Davao City, Feb 15 (PIA)-Police and military authorities vowed to prevent progressive groups from blocking the Agusan-Davao highway again to force the Department of Social Welfare and Development to release 10,000 sacks of rice allegedly for distribution to survivors of typhoon Pablo.
Speaking in the AFP-PNP Press Corps briefing Lt. Colonel Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division said that though the military respects the right of people to air their grievance through assembly, progressive groups must not abuse this right to the point of disrupting the flow of traffic and eventually disturbing the activities of the general public.
He said they will support the law enforcement effort of the Philippine National Police in the event these groups will initiate moves to again interrupt the flow of traffic just to insist on their demands.
Paniza said these groups were not able to conduct a repeat of their road blockade activity in Davao Oriental like what they did in Compostela Valley on January 15 since they were driven away by the people this time.
“Their move to dupe the people that certain benevolent politicians are coming to give away assistance just to muster more participants to the blockade no longer worked,” he said.
Paniza said that the DSWD must be cautious when giving in to the demands of the progressive groups since based on the past experiences in Bicol Region where typhoons also occurred, rotten relief goods were found in the lairs of communist rebels following encounters with soldiers.
He said it implies that the relief goods were not distributed to the actual typhoon victims.
“Being transparent and accounting of resources are processes being observed carefully by government,” Paniza said.
Superintendent Filmore Escobal, chief of the Police Community Relations Office of the Police Regional Office XI said that appropriate charges were already filed against the leaders of the progressive groups who led the blockade. However, he clarified that the police will not take legal action against individuals who might be included in the list of recipients that will be submitted by the progressive groups as they comply with this requirement.
“It is not true that the police will sue those individuals written on their list if they have not committed a crime,” Escobal said as he stressed that the police will only charge people who commit crime.
Escobal said leaders of progressive groups could have restrained their members from occupying the national highway since freedom of expression is allowed in a democratic society.
“It is not true that the police will sue those individuals written on their list if they have not committed a crime,” he said as he stressed that the police will only charge people who commit crime.
Villa Vigil, assistant regional director of the DSWD XI said the coalition of progressive groups failed to comply with the list of 50,000 families whom they claimed will be benefitted from the rice distribution. She said the group met with her in February 7.
Vigil said the DSWD wants know who these 50,000 beneficiaries are since the agency has been serving 233,000 families in Davao Region since the relief effort started.
“We would like to know who they are, where will be the areas of distribution and who will pack the rice, because the clamor is that there were not able to receive any assistance from the government,” she said.
Vigil said their will stick with the conditions which the coalition of progressive organizations agreed with Corazon Soliman, secretary of the DSWD, the first time they blocked the Agusan-Davao highway.
She explained that the DSWD is also accountable to the people on the 10,000 sacks of rice worth P1.2-Million, if the rice is not given to the legitimate victims of typhoon Pablo. (PIA XI-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines/LAC)
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