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Thursday, March 04, 2004
NPA denies plot to ambush media
* Merardo Arce Command spokesman calls 73rd IB commander a "pathological liar"
* Says NPA won't gain anything by attacking media
THE Merardo Arce Command of the New People's Army (NPA) denied accusations the rebels had planned to ambush media practitioners who visited Paquibato district on
Saturday.
In a press statement, Merardo Arce Command spokesperson Rigoberto Sanchez said the claim of Lt. Col. Eric Parayno of the Army's 73rd Infantry Battalion is a "bare-faced lie".
"He is proving to be a pathological liar. He claimed that a team of NPA ambushed elements of the fascist battalion on Sunday. This is a bare-faced lie,"
Sanchez said.
Parayno earlier claimed that his men encountered the rebels in Barangay Maal-al in Paquibato Sunday morning, a day after members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police Press Corps 11 and several non-government organizations visited Paquibato proper for a medical-dental outreach program.
He said the rebels planned to ambush the civilian group, as attested by some lumads in the area who claimed they were forewarned by the rebels not to
attend the civic action "because something will happen."
But the rebel spokesman however said Parayno's claim "was laughable and absurd".
"What would the NPA gain if the media were harmed? Why would the NPA do that when the revolutionary movement has made in-roads in maintaining good and professional relations with members of the press? The NPA recognizes the role of the press and journalists can be partners in exposing the rottenness of the reactionary ruling system," said Sanchez.
He said Parayno's claim was just "a diversion to shift attention away from the fact that, the day before, US soldiers were accompanied by the 73rd IB in its intelligence gathering in Paquibato district".
"A fact that proves the puppetry to the US of the Arroyo regime and its blatant violation of the country's sovereignty," Sanchez said.
More than 50 civilians composed of Davao media practitioners, officials of the Office of Civil Defense, Philhealth, Rotary Club and other civic organizations along with the 404th Army Brigade, Task Force Davao and the Philippine National Police visited Paquibato for the civic action last Saturday.
Luckily, the Davao media and the rest of the group decided to take another route on their way home and did not pass through Barangay Maal-al where the rebels were allegedly waiting.
Parayno said his soldiers scoured the area Sunday, a day after the civic action, and encountered several NPA members in Barangay Maal-al.
He added that his men then spotted a number of black backpacks from afar. The rebels fired at them when they went near to investigate.
A firefight ensued for about 45 minutes, which resulted to the death of Staff Sgt. Genny Pancho. Parayno.
A number of rebels are believed injured, while residents in the nearby area claimed to have seen rebels burying two of their comrades few hours after the encounter. BOT
(March 4, 2004 issue)
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