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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Where's your proof? Officials hit militant groups over case of missing activists in Bataan

Where's your proof? Officials hit militant groups over case of missing activists in Bataan

Published Sep 7, 2023 08:36 am

Defense and military officials challenged on Thursday, Sept. 7, militant groups to produce pieces of evidence to back their claims that government security officers are behind the alleged abduction of two environmental activists in Bataan.

National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the allegation raised by Karapatan for instance is the usual modus of the group by putting the blame on the government such as the recent case of Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano.

“This is the usual Karapatan playbook where the NTF ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) is the convenient scapegoat by this front organization for any alleged deficiency of government,” said Malaya.

“We challenge Karapatan to come up with any evidence or proof of wrong-doing by the NTF ELCAC and submit the same to the Department of Justice for preliminary investigation. If they have none, then they should let the PNP CIDG (Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) conduct its investigation rather than pointing fingers at the NTF ELCAC with complete disregard for the truth,” he added. 

Castro and Tamano were reported to have been forcibly taken by armed men on Sept. 2 while conducting a research on the effects of the Manila Bay reclamation to fishermen and coastal communities in Bataan.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo earlier said that the parents of Castro and Tamano already coordinated with the local police.

“What I can reveal is the parent has an idea where the child is but I am not at liberty to reveal it right now because there are ongoing efforts to convince the child to go home,” he added.

For his part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said he would not dignify the allegations of the alleged involvement of the military.

“Without any evidence presented to prove their claim, to me the accusation is baseless and malicious, nothing but a propaganda aimed to destroy the image of the government. Such accusation therefore needs no response from us,” said Aguilar.

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