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Thursday, November 24, 2005
Editorial: Truth in the Palo incident
THE incident in Barangay San Agustin, Palo, Leyte shows once again the difficulty in ascertaining the truth of something that is encompassed by a conflict where both sides have the propensity to churn out propaganda.
The Central Command (Centcom) is insisting on its claim that the incident was a legitimate encounter between the 19th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the rebels, with Centcom Commander Emmanuel Teodosio even going dramatic by saying he wanted to shake the hands of all the soldiers involved.
Meanwhile, to prove its “encounter” contention, the 19th IB claimed recovering from the site assorted firearms and ammunition and subversive documents.
But rhetoric is easy to compose, what with Centcom’s existing propaganda machinery, and guns and documents not difficult to plant in a site already sanitized of independent observers after the operation.
On the other hand, the party-list group Bayan Muna, to which most of the victims belong, and its militant allies like Karapatan, are insisting that the Palo incident was not an “encounter” but a “massacre.”
The contention seems to be bolstered by the fact that among those killed was a pregnant woman. In a sense, it would be difficult to believe that the New People’s Army (NPA) would recruit a pregnant woman as combatant.
Still, with the rebel strategy of using both the legal and illegal struggles in fighting the government, it has become difficult to separate the armed component represented by the NPA with those advancing legitimate protests.
Meaning, it is not easy to find out with certainty whether some of those killed were armed or not.
As for so-called investigations, like the one conducted by militant groups in Palo and the one that Centcom said it is willing to do, these are not helping the situation any given the doubts surrounding the honesty of investigators.
An independent probe could serve the purpose but finding members of such a probe team acceptable to both sides takes time, plus there is no assurance those concerned will accept the result of the investigation.
It is highly possible then that the public will not really know the truth about the Palo incident, thus solidifying the lies and half-truths being bandied around and bolstering preconceived notions.
In this setup, not only is the quest for the truth not served but the argument for the escalation of violence in Leyte and in other parts of the country also strengthened.
(November 24, 2005 issue)
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