Philippine Army 8th Infantry Division Commander Major General Raul Farnacio (File photo)
TACLOBAN CITY -- The Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division has accused the New People’s Army (NPA) of orchestrating the mass evacuation of villagers in San Jose de Buan town.
The military issued the statement on Monday, after the left-leaning group Bayan Sinirangan blamed government troops as behind the displacement of 42 families from remote Hagbay village.
Affected families have been taking shelter at the town's covered court since March 17 for fear of being caught in the crossfire between the military and armed rebels. Among the evacuees are 51 children, 65 women, 12 senior citizens, and four pregnant women.
The gun battle between government forces and NPA in the far-flung village has been ongoing since March 17, when the terror group attacked the Army's community support program (CSP) team from 87th Infantry Battalion in Can-aponte village in San Jose de Buan town last March 17.
The CSP team was in the area to facilitate the delivery of basic services of the government to address the needs of remote communities.
“The main reason behind these dirty tactics being used by the terrorists is to discredit the peace and development efforts of the CSP team in helping conflict-affected communities to progress and develop,” said Maj. Gen. Raul M. Farnacio, 8th Infantry Division commander, in a statement issued Monday.
Farnacio added that the mass evacuation was the same strategy employed by the communist group last January in Bay-ang village, San Jorge, Samar, which is to create a chaotic situation within the community and blame the government troops for it.
"Afterwards, these terrorists would demand that government troops should pull out from the said community," Farnacio said.
The top military official asked rebel groups not to resort to violence, but instead lay down their arms, avail of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program being offered by the government.
“Go back to the mainstream of our society, and live a normal and progressive life,” Farnacio said.
In its social media post, Bayan Sinirangan claimed that the military use innocent civilians as human shields against possible offensives waged against them by the NPA. (PNA)
