THE commander of Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said there is zero human rights violations in the region, contrary to statements of rights groups here.
Brigadier General Nemesio Gacal, 4ID commander made this statement in his speech on Thursday, February 28, during the 49th anniversary celebration of the army division.
Gacal referred to the groups who claimed there are indeed abuses as “enemies of the government.”
“Normal yun na masasabi ng mga kalaban ng gobyerno na maraming atrocities
but tingnan natin yung record sa CHR (Commission on Human Rights (CHR), wala naman talaga, ang propaganda kasi pwede itong gawin ng kahit na sino, especially kalaban ng gobyerno,” Gacal said.
(It’s normal for people who are against the government to say those words that there are many atrocities but let us look at the record of CHR, there was no recorded incident. Anyone can make a propaganda, especially those who are against the government.)
He added that this is part of the propaganda in their attempt to stop the implementation of martial law in Mindanao.
“Part ito lahat ng propaganda, so hindi na ako magtataka,” he added.
(This is part of the propaganda, so I’m not surprised.)
Several human rights organizations such as Barug Katungod Mindanao and Karapatan earlier said they noted the steep rise of illegal arrests, such as the cases of peasant and lumad leaders Datu Jomorito Goaynon and Ireneo Udarbe, and other workers, who are now tagged as high-ranking officials of New People’s Army (NPA).
The 4ID is celebrating its 49th anniversary, and awarded partner agencies as well as outstanding soldiers.
Among its accomplishments in the past year include, clearing 85 municipalities from the conflict-affected areas and facilitated the surrender of 3,554 NPA personalities.
A total of 136 NPA hideouts were discovered, and 613 firearms were recovered.