Army denies report on aerial bombing of Rizal village; slams 'lies'
Published Apr 9, 2023 12:58 am
The Philippine Army's (PA) 80th Infantry Battalion (80IB) refuted claims that it conducted aerial bombing at a community in Montalban, Rizal while conducting anti-communist operations as it condemned the "lies" being circulated on social media.
*(File photo: 80th Infantry Battalion)*
Lt. Col. Erwin Comendador, 80IB, blasted human rights watchgroup Karapatan Southern Tagalog (ST) and Karapatan Rizal for allegedly peddling false information to cast doubt on the military's recent operations in Montalban.
"Mariing kinukundena ng himpilan ng 80th Infantry 'Steadfast' Battalion ang mga kasinungalingang inihahasik ng Karapatan ST at mga alipores nitong mga maka-kaliwang grupo na nagkukubli bilang mga 'progresibong grupo' (The 80th Infantry 'Steadfast' Battalion strongly condemns the lies being spread by Karapatan ST and its left-leaning allies that are presenting themselves as progressive groups)," the 80IB said in a statement on Saturday, April 8.
"Walang katotohanan ang mga balita ng pangbo-bomba o ng isasagawang pambobomba na ikinakalat ng KARAPATAN-ST. Ginagawa nilang inutil ang mamamayan sa tuloy-tuloy nilang pagpapakalat ng mali-maling pahayag (There is no truth to reports about past or planned bombings being peddled by Karapatan ST. They are making a fool out of the public by spreading incorrect statements)," it added.
Citing reports from Karapatan ST and Karapatan Rizal, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel said in a tweet last Friday, April 7, that Army troops "forcibly displaced" families in Montalban "to prepare for aerial bombardment of civilian communities."
Accordingly, around 80 families in Barangay Mascap and 75 families in Barangay Puray have been forced to evacuate and supposedly "threatened" by the military with aerial bombings "if they refuse to evacuate and leave their homes and livelihood."
"These threats came after the clashes of the Phil. Army with armed rebels," he said.
The 80IB figured in two separate armed encounters with suspected communist rebels in Brgy. San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal on March 31.
Joint troops from the Army and Philippine National Police (PNP) were acting on reports from concerned citizens about the presence of armed personalities at Sitio Wawa when they clashed with 30 armed men allegedly belonging to the Komiteng Larangan Gerilya (KLG) Narciso from the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee's Sub-Regional Military Area 4A.
The firefights lasted for 15 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively, wherein one soldier perished while two other uniformed personnel were injured.
The 80th IB said the encounters forced residents to evacuate from their homes due to fear of being caught in the crossfire, and not because of any planned aerial bombing.
*(File photo: 80th Infantry Battalion)*
Lt. Col. Erwin Comendador, 80IB, blasted human rights watchgroup Karapatan Southern Tagalog (ST) and Karapatan Rizal for allegedly peddling false information to cast doubt on the military's recent operations in Montalban.
"Mariing kinukundena ng himpilan ng 80th Infantry 'Steadfast' Battalion ang mga kasinungalingang inihahasik ng Karapatan ST at mga alipores nitong mga maka-kaliwang grupo na nagkukubli bilang mga 'progresibong grupo' (The 80th Infantry 'Steadfast' Battalion strongly condemns the lies being spread by Karapatan ST and its left-leaning allies that are presenting themselves as progressive groups)," the 80IB said in a statement on Saturday, April 8.
"Walang katotohanan ang mga balita ng pangbo-bomba o ng isasagawang pambobomba na ikinakalat ng KARAPATAN-ST. Ginagawa nilang inutil ang mamamayan sa tuloy-tuloy nilang pagpapakalat ng mali-maling pahayag (There is no truth to reports about past or planned bombings being peddled by Karapatan ST. They are making a fool out of the public by spreading incorrect statements)," it added.
Citing reports from Karapatan ST and Karapatan Rizal, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel said in a tweet last Friday, April 7, that Army troops "forcibly displaced" families in Montalban "to prepare for aerial bombardment of civilian communities."
Accordingly, around 80 families in Barangay Mascap and 75 families in Barangay Puray have been forced to evacuate and supposedly "threatened" by the military with aerial bombings "if they refuse to evacuate and leave their homes and livelihood."
"These threats came after the clashes of the Phil. Army with armed rebels," he said.
The 80IB figured in two separate armed encounters with suspected communist rebels in Brgy. San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal on March 31.
Joint troops from the Army and Philippine National Police (PNP) were acting on reports from concerned citizens about the presence of armed personalities at Sitio Wawa when they clashed with 30 armed men allegedly belonging to the Komiteng Larangan Gerilya (KLG) Narciso from the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee's Sub-Regional Military Area 4A.
The firefights lasted for 15 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively, wherein one soldier perished while two other uniformed personnel were injured.
The 80th IB said the encounters forced residents to evacuate from their homes due to fear of being caught in the crossfire, and not because of any planned aerial bombing.