AFP’s Arevalo: Military not into torturing, detaining civilians

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday denied that it is the practice of the military to torture civilians, insisting that troops respect human rights in accordance to their mandate.

"The act that our soldiers are accused of is a serious allegation that is neither a policy nor a practice. As a matter of fact, AFP regulations mandate that we respect human rights and abide by the law of armed conflict," AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said in a message to GMA News Online.

Arevalo was reacting to the claim of human rights lawyer Josa Deinla that it was allegedly "the practice of the military to torture, arrest and detain civilians in retaliation to the NPA (New People's Army)."

Deinla had said two Aetas were supposedly tortured by government forces as a form of reprisal for the death of a soldier during an encounter with rebels in Zambales in August 2020.

According to the lawyer, Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos were arrested as they and their families were escaping from a crossfire between soldiers and NPA rebels.

"It so happened that these civilians were fleeing so it now became easy for them to just accuse them as being part of the NPA members who were also fleeing, allegedly, the place after the encounter," Deinla said.

Arevalo said the field commander had told him that the said incident has been leveled against the military since last year, however, the accusers have failed to prove their allegations.

Due to their alleged experiences in the hands of state forces, Gurung and Ramos, through the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers, have asked the Supreme Court to allow them to participate in the petitions challenging the highly-criticized anti-terrorism law.

The two, who stand accused of illegally possessing firearms, ammunition, explosives, and subversive documents, are detained at the Olongapo City Jail, Deinla said.

In September last year, the Philippine Army's 7th Infantry Division already dismissed the allegation that some members of the Aeta community were abused by security forces. — RSJ, GMA News