Because the public did not believe the lies and deceptions of the military under Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, chief of 101st Infantry Brigade, that Grecil Buya was an NPA child-soldier, he is now resorting to fabrication of lies and more lies by claiming that Grecil was killed by bullets coming from New Peoples Army (NPA). He cited a so-called Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) report that the rebels who positioned at the lower ground started firing towards the soldiers and at the house were Grecil was staying while the rebels were retreating.
This is a big lie because based on the testimonies and drawings of children as outputs of psycho-social release during the National Interfaith Psycho-social First Aid Mission (NIPFAM), the children said that the first and heavy volumes of fires came from the military. These statements were supported by the written affidavits of several people in the community where indeed Grecils house were strafed and ransacked by the soldiers.
Grecil has traces of powder burns on her head an indicator that she was shot at close range. It is very improbable that the bullets that hit Grecil came from NPA when in fact they were retreating away while the military was approaching towards the house were Grecil was staying. The SOCO report that Gen. Holganza boasted is unconvincing and inconclusive because it did not actually employ impartial and scientific probing methods such as autopsy/forensic. Only a forensic expert like Dr. Raquel Fortun could objectively and scientifically pinpoint the real perpetrators of the crime and the circumstantial evidences pointed to the military.
According to Gen. Holganza that child-focused groups are hiding Grecils parents, namely; Gregorio Galacio and Virginia Buya, because the groups are afraid of the truth and he wanted the parent to cooperate with military investigation.
Such statement of Gen. Holganza further proves that he is a habitual liar. Civil society groups are giving safe sanctuary to Grecils parents because her father, Gregorio Galacio, was accused as NPA member and was threatened of filing charges for rebellion and illegal possession of firearms by the military. The people of New Bataan had testified that Galacio was not an NPA but a mere farmer. Indeed, the military was striking a deal with Galacio that they will withdraw the plan to file charges against him if he also withdraws filing cases against the soldiers. Civil society groups are securing their safety because they are the primary witness of the criminal and administrative cases filed before the Regional Trial Court and Ombudsman for the military, respectively.
Gen. Holganza and his ilk are resorting to fabrication of lies and deceptions just to save their face before the public and to cover their brutal violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Geneva War Protocols, Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and Republic Act 7610 or Special Protection on Filipino Children Law.##
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