Lumbera to file complaint vs AFP over spying incident

Unsatisfied with the military's apology, Bienvenido Lumbera has decided to file a complaint against the Armed Forces of the Philippines over the spying incident in the National Artist for Literature's Quezon City residence. "I accept their apology, but I don't necessarily believe the details they said," Lumbera, professor-emeritus at the University of the Philippines and national chairman of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list, told GMANews.TV in an interview on Friday. Lumbera said he and the ACT would file the complaint before the Commission on Human Rights “as soon as possible." Cpl. Hannibal Guerrero, a Marine intelligence trainee, was held by security guards and later turned over to the police after he was caught spying on Lumbera's home in Mapayapa Village, Brgy. Diliman last Thursday. [See: 'Soldier' held for 'surveillance' on National Artist Lumbera's home] Guerrero was part of a group of military personnel training on surveillance operations under the Naval Intelligence Security Force, according to Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo. Arevalo said part of the training was the verification of reports about insurgency-related activities of "randomly selected and unidentified" civilians. [See: Navy: Surveillance on Lumbera home part of ‘intel' training] Lumbera, who also heads the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), has criticized President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's choice of National Artists who include Carlo J. Caparas, and Cecille Guidote Alvarez. He was part of the group that filed a petition at the Supreme Court that seeks to stop Mrs. Arroyo's proclamation of this year's National Artists, and a signatory to past impeachment complaints against the President. “I have become conscious of always having the probability that my activities will be curtailed by the military," Lumbera said. “This should serve as a warning to all citizens who engage in political activities because there is a likelihood that the military is going to clamp down on them," he added. Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the leftist organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the Navy's explanation that the incident was part of a military training “stretches the imagination and is not at all credible." CAP spokesman Roselle Pineda said Malacañang might have a hand in the incident, which could give rise to “military-meddling" in politics months before the 2010 presidential elections. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said he would order an investigation into the incident. [See: Probe looms over Lumbera ‘surveillance' case] The Palace earlier said that the incident was “embarrassing (on the part of the military). It denied claims that it was involved in the surveillance activity. - GMANews.TV