CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno said activists and militant groups should prioritize making a case against the alleged human rights violations in the city instead of advancing their "propaganda game.”
Moreno said he asked the human rights groups to give him a copy of their complaints of the alleged violations happening in the city.
"Kanang mga ingana nga kawsa, kinahanglan imong ipropagate ug istoryahan to keep it alive in the realm of public opinion, giingnan ko sila, okay ko ana, keep it alive," he said.
But the mayor said some are asking for actions but did not even ask for relief in the first place.
"Giingnan ko nga naa man prescribed relief diha, walay action diha kay ipalabi ang propaganda game. But dili ko sila hilabtan diha, if you want to elevate this to the public discussion okay lang, pero naa man remedies available, such as illegal arrests, naa man," he said.
Human rights group Karapatan in Northern Mindanao has dared Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, who heads the Regional Peace and Order Council (PPOC), to be alarmed and respond to the unchecked human rights violations “happening in his backyard.”
Karapatan-Northern Mindanao posed the challenge after military personnel “forcibly” brought two women human rights defenders from Barangay Macabalan for questioning and verification over the alleged links with the New People’s Army (NPA).
Karapatan is calling the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) to release the two human rights advocates, including the other six lumad and farmer activists earlier arrested.
Brigadier General Nemesio Gacal, 4ID commander, however denied the alleged violations and instead called the groups who claimed they are “enemies of the government.”
He said that this is part of the propaganda in their attempt to stop the implementation of Martial law in Mindanao.