Friday, February 15, 2008 Army major gatecrashes, berates anti-US forum
ANTI-US militants assailed Cagayan de Oro-based Army Major Benedicto Manquiquis for gate crashing their forum at the Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) in Iligan City and berating their speakers on Thursday.
Manquiquis accused the professors and students of being "communists" and proceeded to sing the "Internationale," said Karl Kristian Mark Urbano, public information officer of the US Troops Out Now!
Manquiquis is the commanding officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Civil-Military Office based in the headquarters of the Army Fourth Infantry Division in Camp Edilberto Evangelista, this city.
Urbano said Manquiquis along with several soldiers were also present in Thursday's anti-US picket and candlelighting in MSU-IIT and intimidated the students by taking pictures and video of them.
"These actions of Manquiquis are clearly a form of harassment against patriotic Filipinos who are actively campaigning against the Balikatan exercises," group convener Roseal Cabatcha, said.
"We are open to the presence of the military during our activities in the name of healthy debate and discussion, but the actions of Manquiquis and his personnel demonstrated that their purpose is to disrupt the activity and create chaos," Cabatcha said.
Manquiquis when interviewed did not deny going to the anti-US forum and singing the "Internationale."
"Yes it's true, I debated with the forum speakers because instead of talking about the Balikatan, which the forum is all about, they were lecturing about US Imperialism and how to topple the government," Manquiquis said.
He said he went to the forum not to spy on the students but as an MSU-IIT alumnus concerned that forum speakers whom he described as communists are "influencing the minds of the young students."
"The forum speakers were clearly lecturing about communist propaganda of agitation. They were agitating the MSU-IIT students to rise up in arms and topple the government," Manquiquis said.
Manquiquis said he left the forum after he and the forum speakers engaged in a heated discussion.
"Some of the professors there called me "bastos" (rude), but they are the ones who are bastos (rude) because they shouted invectives at me," he said.
This is not the first time that Manquiquis had a brush with local militants.
On May 03, 2007, Manquiquis was also accused by the militants of disrupting a Labor Day protest at the Divisoria Kiosk.
The militants also accused Manquiquis of calling Lawyer Frederico Gapuz, head of the Union of People's Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), "a communist."
Lawyer Beverly Musni, head of Gabriela, a militant women group, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should dismissed Manquiquis for "acts unbecoming for a military officer."
"The misbehavior of Major Manquiquis reflects the kind of training the AFP personnel has learned through endless Balikatan exercises all these years," Musni said
"Manquiquis should be drafted by the US troops so he can join the rapists of Nicole, the murderers of the eight civilians in Sulu, the arrogant officer who compelled the closure of hospital in Panamao, the homicidal shooter of Isnijal in Basilan and the torturers of Abu Gahraib and Guantanamo Bay," she said.
