Friday, September 21, 2007 Rebels say government forces harassing Pigcawayan folk By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE communist National Democratic Front (NDF) said government forces are harassing residents of Pigcawayan in North Cotabato and arresting them without any warrant.
In a statement, the NDF in Southern Mindanao accused the Philippine Army's 40th Infantry Battalion of "subjecting innocent civilians to warrantless searches, harassment, and witch-hunting operations in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, sowing terror among the local residents."
"In their attempt to misrepresent the welfare of innocent civilians, they have put these North Cotabato villages under local martial rule," the statement said.
In a telephone interview Thursday, Armed Forces of the Philippines-Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Major Rodrigo Sosmeña however denied the claim.
Sosmeña said the strong presence of the government forces in Pigcawayan is to prevent the New People's Army (NPA), NDF's armed component, from recruiting civilians to join their movement.
"There are no harassments committed by our troops. The additional troops are there merely to prevent the NPA from secretly recruiting civilians as reported in Barangay Midpapanto," Sosmeña said.
The rebel group claimed that "the AFP's abuses in Pigcawayan emphasize its desperation to score points against the NPA in the propaganda war by spinning lies and covering up their atrocities."
The military spokesman however said the NPA's are just raising howl over the presence of the military in Pigcawayan because this has denied them access to the masses. (With PA)
