CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, November 12 (PIA) A top commander of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines in Northern Mindanao urged government
communicators to highlight the efforts of their respective offices to serve the
people through their programs and projects.
Speaking at the 13th Mindanao Communicators’ Congress held in the
Pryce Plaza Hotel, Major General Oscar Lactao, commander of the 4th Infantry
Division said there are aplenty of accomplishments done by the Aquino
Administration.
He said many information need to be relayed to the people
with regards to completion of schools and road projects, increasing
number of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program,
and more hospitals operational as the budget of the Department of Health.
“These things need to be relayed to the people because government
projects are not very much highlighted to them through information,” Lactao
said.
He revealed that the effort now of the government forces in his
area of responsibility is to reach out to the indigenous peoples by bringing in
the government services to them.
Lactao said the IPs are often very far, isolated and are easily
exploited by the armed groups.
He also bared that two out of three rebels nowadays are members of
the indigenous communities.
“The rebels are exploiting the situation of the IPs being far and
isolated, and very vulnerable from agitation and recruitment, ” Lactao said.
He said this situation prompts the military to make its internal
security operation IP-centered by bringing in the government services to the
indigenous communities where the soldiers provide security to working
government personnel.
Lactao said the government must connect with the IPs so that they
will not be enticed to bear firearms and to fight to authorities.
On the killings of three IPs in Lianga, Surigao del sur, he said
that the security sector has already identified and filed cases against three perpetrators
identified as Margarito Layno, Bobby and Loloy Tejero.
“Warrants of arrest were issued and these persons are being
pursued by the Task Force Bangkaw headed by the police to bring them to
justice. We urge them to surrender to prevent violence in the time of
their arrest,” Lactao said.
He said that the perpetrators had been with the rebel movement for
ten years before they turned their backs against their former comrades.
The perpetrators were implicated in the killings of the Alternative
Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development or ALCADEV director
Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos, chairman of the Malahutayong
Pakigbisog Alang Sa Sumusunod or MAPASU, and his cousin Bello Sinzo in
Lianga, Surigao del Sur in September this year.
Lactao stressed that these suspects are not members of the
military.
“They are more akin to the rebels. They simply left the
rebel movement and currently fight each other,” he said.
Lactao that aside from the lumad killings in Lianga, a total of
357 IPs have been attributed to the rebels including the murder of Loreto Mayor
Latasa and his son and two other datus.
He called on the progressive organizations to also give attention
to the IPs killed by the rebels, especially the noncombatants and
voiceless.
“You ought to give balance information,” Lactao said.
(PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)
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