CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The military on Friday denied intimidating members of an indigenous peoples (IP) community in Bukidnon into admitting that they are supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Lt. Col. Franklin Fabic, commander of the Army’s 88th Infantry Battalion (88IB), said there was no coercion on the residents of Barangay Sta. Filomena but only to "plea with some of them to stop supporting the communist rebels".
“There is no truth to that,” Fabic said in a phone interview, referring to the allegation that elements of the 88IB went around Sta. Filomena--particularly in Sitio Dumasilag--and told them to return to the fold of the law.
Fabic issued the denial following the allegation made by Wilboy Lay-um, spokesperson of the leftist Movement Against Tyranny in Bukidnon.
Lay-um accused the military of intimidating Dumasilag residents and prompting them to flee to the neighboring Quezon town on December 2.
But Fabic insisted that “there is no pressure from us, but they have to be truthful to us that they will stop supporting the NPA”.
He said the military has received information that some villagers have been aiding the NPA fighters in the area.
“The information did not come from us. It came from the people there, from those who have already surrendered to the government,” he said.
Fabic said Dumasilag in Sta. Filomena has remained as the last bastion for NPA support in the area.
“That’s why they (NPA) don’t want to let go of it, or else they will lose their support network in the area,” Fabic added.
He also clarified that the presence of the 88IB, through its community support team, in Sta. Filomena was to help the communities which lack access to basic government services.
The villagers, who belong to the Manobo tribe, returned home on Monday (Dec. 9) after days of taking shelter at the Iglesia Filipino Independiente compound in Barangay Poblacion, Kitaotao, after staying for a few days in Quezon town. (PNA)
