UP seeks probe of Army harassment of students
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development (UP CSWCD) has urged the military yesterday to investigate the harassment by members of the Military Intelligence Battalion (MIB) of three students doing field work with Aetas in Porac, Pampanga, on Jan. 21.
In a statement signed by Dr. Rosalinda Pineda-Ofreneo, the UP CSWCD also denounced the incident, saying it “threatens the viability of college programs and derails the practice of its legitimate profession.”
“We call on the military chain of command, as the institution to conduct reforms in their operations that must be consistent with constitutionally mandated human right provisions, to conduct thorough, swift and impartial investigation of the harassment incident, and deal accordingly with those at fault,” the statement said.
Pauline Paguia, a BS Community Development student, reported to her faculty supervisor that her teammates—Anton Dulce, Ricardo Luis Flores and Marigold Villar—were on their way to Barangay Kamias in Porac when four men on board a van harassed them.
The men first began asking questions on the identities of the students and accused them of organizing for the New People’s Army. They shoved Dulce and took photographs of the students.
The students filed an incident report at the police before leaving the area.
According to the UP CSWCD statement, Staff Sgt. Alfredo Fernandez, the commander of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in the area, identified personnel of the MIB as involved in the incident. This cannot be immediately verified with Fernandez.
Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta, outgoing chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division, denied that the incident took place, saying that only militiamen were assigned to the uplands of Porac, which had been declared as insurgency-free.
The UP CSWCD said it has held a series of dialogues with the military, urging the military’s representatives to “recognize and respect the academic integrity and independence of the field work of the instruction program of the college, and to duly communicate this to their units in the field.” Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
