DUMAGUETE CITY (PNA) – The commander of the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army based in Siaton, Negros Oriental on Tuesday welcomed complaints being readied against him and his men by the human rights group Karapatan, for alleged abuses and other violations.

Lt. Col. Erwin Bernard Neri is disputing allegations, saying residents of Nagbalaye in Sta. Catalina town “no longer want the New People’s Army (NPA) in their community and it is for this reason that Karapatan and other similar organizations are fabricating stories of military abuses and human rights violations to discredit the Government.”

Reports by the human rights group include claims by a family in Sitio Cadlom in Barangay Nagbalaye
accusing elements of the 79th IB of coercion, illegal search and seizure, illegal detention, and divestment of their properties after soldiers allegedly barged into their homes without permission and interrogated them.

The residents, namely, Perla, Rosita, Jocelyn and Flash “Elorde,” all surnamed Dacal-dacal, told a press conference in Dumaguete Tuesday that last August 2, 79th IB soldiers led by a certain T/Sgt Mac-mac Moreno and a Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) member identified as Juaning Udtohan barged into their homes searching for guns allegedly belonging to rebels.

After the illegal search, signages or placards saying members of Karapatan, Bayan Muna and Anak-pawis are not welcome in their homes were put up.

The Dacal-dacal family also claimed that last August 7, they were forced to attend a meeting at the residence of aforementioned CAFGU member in Sitio Nagod-od of the same barangay, where pictures of them being asked to pose as “surrenderees” were taken.

Karapatan Media Liaison Officer for Negros Oriental, Jose Luis Blanco said charges are being readied against the 79th IB headed by Lt. Col. Neri, T/Sgt Moreno and the said CAFGU member.

Promotion of Church Peoples Response (PCPR) Coordinator Joseph Lagorra said the monitoring team had identified at least four violations of coercion, four violations of faking the surrender of these farmers, three for illegal search and three for violation of domicile, among others.

Rosita Dacal-dacal also suspects Army troopers burned her house in June of this year while they were away.

Flash Dacal-dacal also narrated an incident last June 9 where he was allegedly forced to sign a document after being interrogated by the group of T/Sgt Moreno.

He claimed that he was forced to join the Barangay Defense System against his will.

For his part, Neri countered that the complainants (except for Flash) are wives of alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebels operating in southern Negros Oriental.

He admitted that 79th IB troops, led by T/Sgt. Moreno, have talked to the complainants recently to convince their husbands to lay down their arms and return to mainstream society.

Neri said his men explained to the complainants that if their husbands surrendered, they could avail of government livelihood assistance, such as the Social Integrated Program, designed to help rebel returnees start a new life.

“Talking to these people does not redound to coercion, but to Karapatan, a soldier talking to a civilian is already an offense,” he said as he denied the allegations raised by the complainants during the press conference.

Neri said the complainants’ husbands, one of whom he named as a certain Joni, are allegedly armed members of the NPA.

The military commander dared Karapatan and other militant groups to present “Joni” and the other suspected NPA members to the media as well.