Military

Groups Hit Military?s Red-Baiting, Warrant Vs. Luque

DAVAO CITY ? The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Southern Mindanao said Monday it was strongly behind Alvin Luque, the group?s former secretary-general here who is believed to be in hiding now, and vowed to continue fighting what it called as the ?Arroyo regime?s political repression.?

?We decry the fact that under the current regime defending the limited democratic rights of the people and fighting for a just cause are being defined as crimes,? says Ariel Casilao, the acting secretary-general of Bayan in Southern Mindanao.

Bayan said it saw the decision by a local court, which upheld the state?s arguments and ordered Luque?s arrest, as part of the calibrated and systematic attack against critics of the Arroyo regime.

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Military Says NPA Claim of Paquibato Victory Is ?Pure Hogwash?

DAVAO CITY ? The armed forces last week described as ?hogwash? the claim early this month by the communist New People?s Army that it is winning over the residents of Paquibato District, a hinterland part of the city where soldiers and rebels often clash.

?The New People?s Army?s claims of winning in Paquibato area is pure hogwash, not worth even a small attention,? Major Jose Marie R. Cuerpo II, the commander of the military?s 5th Civil Relations Group in the region said.

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How to Bully Councilors and Get Away With It

It is the duty of the City Council to stick its nose into anything that concerns the people. Councilors should not allow one arrogant colonel to redefine what democracy mandates them to do.


Commentary: HACKLES By Carlos H. CondeDAVAO CITY ? Task Force Davao was created in 2003, in the aftermath of the bombings in this city in April of that year, solely for this purpose: to fight terrorism. Since then, however, it has metamorphosed into something else.

I?m not talking about the fact that the TFD, which is dominated by the military, has practically usurped the functions of the police, or that the ubiquitous presence of TFD troops has made the city look like a garrison. I?m talking about something far more pernicious.

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In Paquibato, a `Sham’ Public Hearing on Atrocities

What was billed as the City Council’s public hearing to get Paquibato residents to talk about the atrocities in the district turned into a display of official indifference and, according to witnesses and victims, arrogance.

Col. Mirar, Councilor Militar and Col. del Rosario

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

Photos by Barry Ohaylan

PAQUIBATO, Davao City ? Lenny Nacua wanted officials to hear what happened to her son, and perhaps get some assurance that justice wouldbe done.

So on Wednesday, April 5, Nacua mustered the courage to face the officials onstage ? city councilors, police and military officials, Lumad leaders ? during the City Council’s public hearing here on the killings and violence in Paquibato District allegedly perpetrated by a group of bandits.
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