Reacting to a statement by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Malacañang on Tuesday maintained that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is not recruiting or exploiting “lumads” or indigenous peoples for combat.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the military plays an important role in delivering the government’s basic services to lumad settlements in Mindanao.
“We’re bringing government services to the areas, and there will be instances maybe, perhaps that those services may be disrupted by the NPA (New People’s Army). So we need the assistance of the AFP to secure the services that we provide them. I don’t think that’s recruitment. I think that’s just making sure that the services of government are provided to the Lumads in general,” Lacierda told reporters in a press briefing.
The CHR on Monday said both the AFP and NPA are actively recruiting lumads for combat, tagging both bodies in extrajudicial killings of indigenous peoples’ communities in Mindanao since 2001.
But noting that the AFP has transformed itself into a “professional organization,” Lacierda said the military’s record “will speak for itself.”
“We will continue to address any allegations of human rights violations. So the AFP has evolved into a professional organization. It has been very cognizant of concerns on human rights,” he said.
CHR’s statement came as thousands of lumads took their protests from Mindanao to Manila, particularly in Liwasang Bonifacio, with hopes that the government would notice their plight.
As to rallies extending up to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings in Manila by mid-November, Lacierda said the government will continue to address the lumads’ concerns.
“Some Lumads are rebel returnees and obviously, they have seen—for lack of a better term—they have seen the light. They have seen how government addresses their concerns where, in an area where there are a number of NPAs. Rebel returnees, when they return to the fold, their lives are in danger because coming from the NPA side… So there will be threats to their lives,” he added.