MANILA, Philippines--They may be unable to read or write, but with the help of a local parish priest, four members of the Dumagat tribe in Aurora province will put to the test the newly-passed Anti-Torture Law when they file charges against soldiers who allegedly tortured them on suspicion they were communists.

?We intend to pursue the case and ask the CHR (Commission on Human Rights) for help in seeking a writ of amparo for them and in investigating the case. I want these violations against the Dumagats stopped. Soldiers should know that they are also people with dignity like them,? Fr. Pete Montallana OFM, of the Diocese of Infanta, said in a press conference.

Montallana said Jun-Jun Acleto, Ricky Torres, Roland Corpuz and Lolit Agbayani would be filing a complaint for violation of the Anti-Torture Law against soldiers of the 48th Infantry Battalion based in Dingalan, Aurora.

?Torture and the cruel treatment perpetrated by the military degrades the dignity of Dumagats who already find difficulty in defending themselves due to government neglect and societal discrimination,? the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (Pahra), which has taken up the cause of the four Dumagats, said in a statement.

What started out as an ordinary day on Nov. 29 for the tribe members, hunting for birds? nests to sell, ended with nearly four days of detention and torture inside the military camp in Barangay Dikapinisan. There were also threats to behead them or bury them alive, according to the account of the four men.

In separate affidavits, which three of them certified to with their thumbmarks, the victims narrated that they were resting in a house in Barangay Dikapinisan on Dec. 1 after a two-day hunt and were about to begin a drinking session with two acquaintances when about 10 soldiers arrived, arrested them and brought them to the military camp.

Agbayani said the soldiers were with a man whom he recalled seeing on the road and whom his acquaintance named ?Edwin? asked where the military camp was located.

The victims said they were brought to separate parts of the camp after they failed to show their barangay clearances to the soldiers.

Each one said they were punched, kicked, strangled and hit with lead pipes and Armalite rifles in different parts of their bodies while they were being interrogated and forced to admit they were members of the New People?s Army (NPA).

They were also forced to do work inside the camp such as splitting wood, fetching water and picking up garbage. They were also used by the soldiers for their amusement. Acleto said he was ordered to dive into a river and when he emerged, the soldiers laughed at him.

In his affidavit, Torres said he was reduced to tears when one of the soldiers told him to jump into a hole which would be his grave.

Corpuz said he was forced to admit to the soldiers that he was an NPA member to stop them from further hurting him.