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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Army rejects militant demand, won't leave town
By Danilo V. Adorador III and Stephen Capillas
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The military flatly dismissed Tuesday the demand of militant groups to pull out troops from the Misamis Oriental town of Salay, where a farmers' group leader was murdered last week.
Major Samuel Sagun, spokesman of the Cagayan de Oro-based Fourth Infantry Battalion of the Army, also denied that they had a hand in the violent death of Dalmacio Gandinao, who was shot dead inside his house last Thursday.
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In a radio interview, Sagun said that while Gandinao's murder was "tragic," it should not be used to justify the pullout of government troops.
"What do they want, that the communist New People's Army (NPA) be allowed to enter the area?" Sagun said even as he added that militant groups and other sectors allied with the communist movement should not exploit the murder as propaganda fodder.
Militants have accused the military of masterminding Gandinao's death.
Local officials roundly denounced the killing, while leftist organizations demanded the removal of government troops in the municipality and in the eastern part of the province.
"No, we don't comply with the whims and caprices of leftist groups," Sagun responded. "Let them prove their accusation and convince us that there is enough reason to pull out from the area."
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Sagun said the military presence in eastern Misamis Oriental, a hotbed for communist insurgency, is necessary to contain the rebels in the area.
The 4ID leadership, he said, also "condemns Gandinao's murder and supports the investigation now being conducted by impartial agencies."
"Lieutenant Colonel Eric Benoya, commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade, supports the investigation and vowed to cooperate with investigators," said Sagun.
But when asked if all 8th IB personnel were willing to volunteer in a police lineup, Sagun said this might not be possible since the brigade maintains undercover personnel in its intelligence section.
"But we challenge them to identify the suspects, since most of our troops are known to the locals in the area," he added.
Since the cartographic sketch of the gunman had already been released, Sagun said the task of identifying the killers would be easy for investigators by cross checking this with their personnel files.
He said their intelligence division was also conducting a separate probe on the killing. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (February 14, 2007 issue)
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