October 4, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:04 AM,
CHR clarifies military not yet off the hook,
ZAMBOANGA, (ABS-CBN) - The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is only certain about one point, a climate of fear prevails in the province of Sulu.
Despite earlier clearing the military of allegations of abuse against civilians in the war-torn province, the CHR in Region 9 claimed the investigation is far from over.
It hopes to visit actual sites outside the southern Philippine island of Jolo where the alleged atrocities were committed since military operations against the bandits began September 16.
The CHR investigators recently returned with about three hours of video containing situationers of the areas they had visited and interviews with evacuees, government health workers, religious leaders, local government, police and barangay officials.
As the video shows, they travelled around Jolo proper on a military jeep. An armored personnel carrier was made available by Task Force Strident for the CHR's out-of-town trips.
Regional CHR director Manuel Mamauag justified the assistance extended by the military to the three-man CHR team as it was vital for the group's safety during their trip to outlying towns.
Mamauag also assured detractors that the sanctity of the fact-finding mission was not in any way compromised. He clarified what was announced Monday were the initial results of a recent fact-finding mission in Sulu.
Mamauag had said the three-man CHR team did not find concrete evidence to prove allegations of human rights abuses by military forces.
He admitted, however, the CHR investigators failed to visit critical areas like Parang where aerial bombing runs reportedly caused scores of civilian casualties.
The commission said its investigation has yet to see its end, vowing to visit the war zone areas at the soonest possible time.
The videotape
The videotaped interviews were mostly conducted in the vicinity of evacuation centers in Indanan, Patikul, Talipao, and Maimbung towns.
Investigators failed to visit critical areas like Parang town where scores of alleged civilian casualties were reported during an aerial bombing run in week one of the assault, a report on ABS-CBN's The World Tonight said.
At the Jolo police station, not a single formal complaint has been lodged against reported erring soldiers. Reports said most of these cases rarely prosper.
The three-man CHR team also visited the mosque in Tulay, Jolo where the military raided and arrested suspected Abu Sayyaf members last week.
Religious leaders denounced the raid, saying troops had disrespected the mosque by failing to leave their shoes at the door and toppling a copy of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, from its perch.
CHR officials, however, said Abu Sayyaf members destroyed the religious items inside the mosque in an attempt to point blame on the military.
In Patikul, Jolo vice mayor Butch Izquierdo received reports of civilians caught in the crossfire in week one of the assault.
In an interview, Izquierdo said people went to him with stories of civilian casualties.
At the Sulu provincial hospital, the CHR found a wounded man who was in a state of shock. It was unclear though whether the man was injured during the military operations.
A government doctor reported that bombings had induced three pregnant women to give birth prematurely, while another woman allegedly lost her mind after surviving an air raid.
The CHR also failed to substantiate allegations of salvaging of suspected Abu Sayyaf followers or sympathizers.
Efforts to confirm alleged theft by soldiers during house-to-house searches for loose firearms in Maimbung also yielded negative results.
Hundreds of houses in Indanan town were reportedly destroyed amid incessant military attacks.
Some 100 government soldiers were sent to Barangay Kimbangan in Indanan last week due to reported increased Abu Sayyaf sightings. Also deployed were three army tanks and two MG assault helicopters.
Aside from the CHR, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) itself intends to conduct a speedy investigation on the reported atrocities committed by some members of the military against civilians in Sulu.
The immediate probe, according to Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, was based on the directive issued by President Joseph Estrada amid persisting reports on the alleged savagery displayed by soldiers since the start of the military assault against the Abu Sayyaf last September 16.
(With a report from Pal Marquez)
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