AFP abducted 6 students in Mt. Province - CPP

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) accused the military Friday of abducting six high school students in Bangaan in Sagada, Mt. Province last week. In a statement posted on its website, the CPP demanded the immediate release of the six students, all from the Mt. Province General Comprehensive High School. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Armed Forces of the Philippines for carrying out the abduction of the six Sagada high school students. We demand that the AFP respect their rights of the Sagada Six as children and innocent civilians, immediately release them and make amends for the violation of their rights," said CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal. Rosal urged human rights organizations and advocates of children's rights to look into the abduction and help in locating, recovering and protecting the six high school students. Promptly, Philippine Army officials denied the latest allegations of the CPP. "We have no presence there because that's a peaceful area. That is their propaganda. We have no presence there...they have to prove such incident occurred," said Army 5th Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang. For his part, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said: "That's negative. There is no kidnapping in the area. Why will we resort to kidnapping, in the first place. That is a product of the imagination of Ka Roger." But citing witnesses' accounts, the CPP said the Army's 54th Infantry Battalion abducted the students who happened to cross their paths along the narrow Bangaan-Buasao-Kili foot trail that links their village to the school. The students include three boys and three girls, all from Kili village in Tubo, Abra. The boys were identified as Egan, Banglay and Magensay. Barriofolk in Kili and residents of Northern Sagada where their school is located are working together to locate the students and are demanding that the military release the students. Rosal said the students are the latest victims of the AFP's so-called "counter-insurgency" operations in the area. "Operating troops of the 54th IB are frenziedly carrying out military operations in the area. Everyone in the area is suspected of being a fighter or staunch supporter of the armed revolutionary movement. These fidgety fascist soldiers train their guns at anyone and arrest everyone they meet along the forest trails," he said. He described the abduction as another of the AFP's wanton disregard of civil and democratic rights of the people in general and of children's rights in particular. He said the abduction of the six high school students highlights the military's current "reign of terror" along the wide border areas of Mt. Province, Abra, Kalinga and Ilocos Sur. "Heavy and fierce government military operations in the area that has been ongoing for a long time now terrorize the people, cause widespread socio-economic dislocations and wreck the people's livelihood," he said. Rosal also said that farmers are being prevented from going to their fields to tend to their rice and vegetable crops. They are also being prevented from pasturing their carabaos and cows, he said. Pocket-miners in traditional small-scale mining areas in Sagada, Besao and Bontoc have been forced to abandon their usok or collectively-owned mining tunnels. Kaingeros (upland swidden farmers), wood foragers, honey gatherers and hunters are accosted, threatened not to enter their own communal forests and, once found in the forests, are invariably accused of being members of the NPA and subjected to brutalities, he said. Rosal said a local farmers' cooperative had to abandon the construction of their community irrigation system because of the intensified military operations in the area. - GMANews.TV