(Eagle News) — Malacanang has expressed confidence in the investigation of the Philippine National Police into the “lumad” killings.
At the same time, it said that the government will continue to address the needs of the Lumads in Mindanao.
Cpt. Joe Martinez, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Division had earlier announced the creation of a task force that will probe and rin after those responsible for the deaths of three Lumad or indigenous people’s leaders in Lianga, Surigao del Sur this month.
He Joint Task Force “Tejero” was created during a meeting of local and security officials last Wednesday at the Surigao del Sur provincial capitol.
The objective of the task force is “to speed up the apprehension of the perpetrators” of the Lumad killings, Martinez said.
With regards to the Lumad killings, Lacierda said there was a crime that happened and it is a law enforcement issue. He said the Philippine National Police is investigating the case. adding that the armed forces had already issued a statement about the incident.
“Maraming mga information ang lumalabas, and may nag-iimbestiga, nandiyan ang PNP. I’m certain that the AFP will lend its support to any investigation on the Lumad killings,” Lacierda said.
In a radio interview, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said there is a data showing that three out of four rebel returnees in Surigao del Sur are Lumads, which means the area is still gripped by poverty and its people don’t get much government support.
“It’s a significant amount, three out of four rebel returnees, it shows that people… You know, if there is no access to resources by some people, they will really resort to extralegal means,” Lacierda told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
“We have seen a number of rebel returnees coming back to the fold. It shows that our serbisyo caravan na ginagawa po natin sa ating mga kababayan, sa ating mga kapatid na Lumad, ay nagkakaroon po ng epekto,” he said.
The “lumads”who were killed were Emerito Samarca, director of Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, and indigenous people’s leaders Dionel Campos and Bello Sinzo.
Activists said they believed that those behind the killings were government militia men of the Magahat-Bagani Force. But the military officials have denied links with the group.
According to the military, tribal conflict was the cause of the killings. It said the Magahat-Bagani Force was created by Lumads who used to be part of the New People’s Army (NPA).
“The Magahat-Bagani Force was formed by former Lumad NPA members who wanted to fight their former comrades. It is not part of the AFP command structure,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Civil Relations Service chief Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala said.
AFP chief Gen. Hernando Iriberri has already appealed to netizens not to immediately conclude that the military was behind the lumad killings in Mindanao.
Iriberri said that netizens should learn how to discern the truth, as he denied allegations that the militarywas targeting lumads in their insurgency drive. He said this during the 9th anniversary of the Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City Thursday (September 17),
The hashtag #stoplumadkillings has been going viral on social media, as movie and other television personalities using it as a plea to the government to stop the killings of lumads. The latest star to make a plea for the lumads was actress Angel Locsin who had spent two days of “integration” in 2009 in Alcadev in Sitio Han-ayan, barangay Diatagon, Lianga town, Surigao del Sur province. This is the same town where the Lumads were killed.
The latest incident was on September 1, when three lumads were killed by alleged paramilitary group members identified as the Magahat Bagani Forces.
(with a PND report)
