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Army ‘vindicated’ by CHR report on Melissa Roxas case


The military on Monday welcomed the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) resolution clearing the Philippine Army of any involvement in the kidnapping and alleged torture of Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas in May 2009. Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade said they felt vindicated by the CHR resolution, which he said bolstered their position that Roxas was a member of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) who made false accusations against the military. “This proves that the allegations [were] made up by Melissa Roxas," Parlade said. “She was not able to prove that the military, especially the Army, was behind the kidnapping." “It turned out that our suspicion is correct, that the NPA made this up to undermine the image of the Philippine Army," he added. The CHR resolution was dated February 14 but it came out in newspapers only recently. In the resolution, the CHR, citing “credible sources," said NPA rebels were the ones who kidnapped and tortured Roxas and her companions on May 19, 2009 in La Paz, Tarlac. It said it was not able to follow up the information due to limited resources. Parlade refused to comment on the CHR findings regarding the real kidnappers of Roxas. “I cannot comment on that because I don’t know the specifics," he said. Nevertheless, Parlade said they have documented a number of incidents where the NPA would kidnap their own members and blame it on the military. “They make up stories, they make up the scenarios," he said. Parlade said the Army has evidence to prove that Roxas, who returned to US after the alleged kidnapping, is indeed a member of the NPA. “There are documents that we got implicating Roxas . . . that [she] is indeed a member of the underground movement," he said. - KBK, GMA News

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