Martial law complainants told: No hearsay

BREATHER FROM BATTLE Soldiers, like this group taking a breather from fighting in Marawi City, had been on the receiving end of complaints of abuses in relation to martial law. —JEOFFREY MAITEM

DAVAO CITY — No rumors please.

Civilian and military authorities appealed for verification of complaints on human rights violations in Marawi City before anyone airs these.

The appeal came after civil society leader Samira Gutoc, in a teary-eyed plea at the joint session of Congress on Saturday, told of stories of alleged human rights abuses in Marawi and other areas of Lanao del Sur province as a result of martial law in Mindanao.

She told a story about a woman being stripped down during a search operation but later corrected herself to say the woman was mentally ill and had stripped herself naked during the search.

Gutoc also told a story about what she described as a special child who had been “psychologically interrogated” after being tagged as a terror suspect.

She also narrated a story about men being taken by soldiers supposedly for rescue but were ordered to take off their shirts and were blindfolded.

The group, Tindeg Ranao (Stand Up Lanao), on Sunday also claimed soldiers seized belongings, including memory cards, of some students at a checkpoint in the village of Hinaplanon in Iligan City.

Zia Adiong, spokesperson of the multiagency Lanao del Sur crisis management committee, said what authorities needed were verified reports of the supposed human rights violations.

“We don’t settle for hearsay,” he said.

Adiong said those claiming human rights abuses should be “responsible because we want to avoid inciting civilian unrest.”

“Unwittingly, we might be supporting the PR (propaganda) of the terrorist group. They want the people to get angry at the government,” he said.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año had pledged to make accountable soldiers who abused the rights of civilians. —Allan Nawal

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