The Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) blasted allegations of a left-leaning lawyers’ group that the five members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were killed during an encounter with government forces last Friday in Bilar town were “already captured but tortured” and “summarily executed.”
Bohol police spokesman Lt. Col. Norman Nuez struck down these allegations hurled by the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) as far from the truth.
“Our troops were supposed to serve warrants of arrest when they were fired upon by the rebel combatants which in fact led to the death of one of our operatives and the wounding of another. How was it possible that our government forces sustained the first casualty if the rebels had been captured beforehand?”
This was the reaction of Lt. Col. Nuez during an interview with dyRD’s Inyong Alagad Monday.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) earlier released an official statement saying that Domingo Compoc alias “Kumander Cobra”, lawyer Hannah Jay Cesista alias “Maya / Lean”, Parlito Segovia alias “Aldrin”, Marlon Omosura alias “Darwin”, and Alberto Sancho alias “Juaning”, were all captured alive and taken into custody by the joint military and police forces conducting the operations in Sitio Matinao Dos, Barangay Campagao, Bilar early morning Friday.
“There is no truth to the lie being circulated by the police that the five were killed in an encounter. Local residents attest that no encounter took place that morning,” the CPP claims.
According to the communist group, residents in the area of operations “witnessed the brutality of the military and police troops, torturing and killing” Compoc and companions.
LAWYERS’ GROUP DEMANDS PROBE
The NUPL, the lawyers group of which Cesista belonged, has demanded an investigation saying the military-police operation committed violations to the International Humanitarian Law.
“The NUPL calls for an immediate inquiry into the brutal killings of five reported members of the New People’s Army.”
The lawyers’ group cited “raw accounts” from local residents that the five NPA members were captured near a residence where the police were serving an arrest warrant.
It also cited a photograph which was obtained by a human rights group showing Compoc alive and in the custody of state forces early morning Friday, and that this photo was posted on social media.
“The group also gathered that the NPA members were tortured and summarily executed with Cesista missing an eye and others displaying visible stab wounds. Social media posts presumably published by the police and military show a photo of Cesista’s muddied remains, in line with their dastardly practice of staging and desecrating the remains of enemy forces as trophies,” the NUPL statement added.
According to the Philippine Army, the joint police and military operations were legitimate.
“We deny their accusations,” said Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala.
“We will not dignify their statement. If they think a massacre occurred there, we are open to any investigation,” Dema-ala stressed. (Kit Bagaipo)