ARMY DENIES ABDUCTION
Tanjay City – The Army units based in Negros Oriental particularly the 61st Infantry Battalion under the 302nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division welcome the conduct of investigation by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and any other bodies on the alleged forced disappearance of Flaviano Arante and Reynold Yanoc of Sta Catalina town perpetrated allegedly by members of 61st Infantry Battalion. On the case of Yanoc, 61IB conducted inquiry at Barangay Talalac if indeed a certain Reynold Yanoc is missing. Sta Catalina Mayor Melodia and Talalac Brgy Captain Bigay confirmed that there was no report of such incident and the local PNP attested that there was no blotter of a missing person. 61IB has in fact never encountered the person in the name of Reynold Yanoc. In the case of Arante, elements of 61IB invited him on January 25, 2008 to shed light on his alleged involvement with the communist movement as reported by his neighbors at Brgy Nagbinlod. He revealed to the soldiers his involvement with the underground movement since 2004. He confided that he attended seminars conducted by the Communist Party of the Philippines sometime in 2005 and that he became a full time member in May of 2006. While in the underground movement, he attended several trainings and revolutionary teachings one of which is the “Lambat Paniktik” and he was issued an M14 rifle by a certain @ LOLONG. After the conduct of inquiry, Mr Arante was advised to go home after signing an affidavit that he was neither harmed nor intimidated during his stay at the detachment. He stated in his affidavit that he was treated courteously before he went back home to his family in the morning of January 26, 2008. This was attested by three civilian witnesses in their separate affidavits.
As a result of Mr Arante’s revelations, 61IB troops encountered NPA rebels at Sitio Bantolinao, Brgy Talalac, Sta Catalina on Jan 28, 2008 where a certain @ DAKS (Sqd Ldr of Pltn 1, SEF) was killed. Concerned local officials and citizens confirmed the encounter as they hit back at Karapatan’s allegations that there was none.
Efforts are ongoing to locate Mr Yanoc and Mr Arante to prove that the accusations are not true. Government troops were dispatched to check the veracity of some tip-offs that Mr Arante was abducted by his own comrades and throw the blame to the military.
The allegations of the KMP by its Sec-Gen Danilo Ramos are all fabrications and unfounded in order to malign and destroy the image of the Army. It is the policy of all Army units to give due respect to human rights of all individuals during conduct of operations. The issues being fabricated and raised by militant groups against the military are indications that CPP/NPA/NDF is feeling the pressure especially in the municipality of Sta Catalina, which is a traditional haven of NPAs. Plainly, they are off balanced due to the aggressive efforts of the government supported by the peace-loving populace to flush them out from the area. This Legal Fronts have to come in to ease the pressure of their armed elements from government forces. The disappearance issue is their strategy to blame the military and be burdened in answering questions in the legal arena. Hence, the pressures of their armed elements will ease and the lull period will serve as a respite from their haggard situation. Who knows, the people behind the disappearance are the NPA themselves and give the burden of proof to the military who are out there to dismantle their remaining Guerilla Front in Negros Oriental.
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Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:49 pm