Rebel-controlled militias behind assault on ‘lumad’

It is so alarming that almost every day lumad communities are subjected to brazen human rights violations—allegedly by military personnel. However, this allegation will eventually be shown to be false and the real perpetrators will be unmasked. And they are not military men but some other armed groups.

The truth will eventually come out that it is a tactic of the communist rebels to organize special units of militiamen and send them out to commit crimes, pester communities and wreak havoc in the countryside, then blame government troops to be behind all this.

The blaming is usually done by Karapatan and its allied organizations like Gabriela—purportedly groups for the advancement of people’s rights. But the real goal of their propaganda clatter is to deceive the public, to convince people into believing their lies, and to win the sympathy of the people they claim to defend but are in fact using, in this case the lumad.

These heartless groups make our country miserable. Their ruthlessness have led to anarchy, bloodshed, public anxiety, uncertainty and instability. Just recently, they killed three poor civilians in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, and burned an office of a cooperative. An investigation by the Philippine National Police identifies some suspects behind these crimes. And cases against them have been filed last Sept. 7.

May justice be served the victims and may the lumad realize the military is out there in their communities to protect them. The rebel groups are just fooling the lumad by demonizing the government, to get their support.

—MA. LOURDES A. GARCIA, [email protected]