ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Army denied on Monday that journalists were taken hostage by government troops in Zamboanga del Sur, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
He said Lt. Col. Nasser Pendatun, commander of the 53rd Infantry Battalion, categorically denied the allegations.
“He was in the exact alleged location when the interview was being conducted,” Lacierda added.
Army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc issued a similar statement denying a report that 10 troops, including journalists, were being held at gunpoint by soldiers.
“We categorically deny the report that our soldiers and paramilitary forces have held those people hostage. Their assumption that the soldiers intentionally blocked the road with mud and debris was totally wrong. They were stranded in a landslide which barred any vehicles from entering the villages in the interior,” he said.
Cabunoc said several media workers on board motorcycles were briefly stopped at a checkpoint in Guinoman village at around 10:30 pm, on February 19.
He said the journalists were supposed to cover the eviction of a group of small-scale miners who lost a court battle against a Canadian firm.
“It is part of our SOP [standard operating procedure] to stop the vehicles to know the people who pass especially that some of our soldiers were held hostage in that area on Dec 3, 2011. The checkpoint is also manned by DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] personnel who are tasked to thwart illegal logging in the area. It is not our policy to thwart the movement of media personnel who cover important events in our AOR,” he added.
Cabunoc said the journalists were allowed to proceed to their destination but they were blocked by a huge pile of mud and soil along the road in Sitio Malagak, Guinoman village.
“Frustrated about the situation, two of their companions (Lito Pedrano and Jong Cadion) assumed that the military forces in the area intentionally blocked their path to ‘hold them hostage’. Their fear was aggravated upon seeing that ‘there were backhoes in the area,’ reminding them of an infamous massacre in Central Mindanao,” the Army said in a press statement.
Pedrano and Cadion then asked for help by sending text messages to their friends in the media.
“We need help dahil nagiging hostage kami ngayun sa mga SCAA (Special CAFGU) at ng Canadian Mining na TVI-RD spagkat hindi na kami pinayagang makababa. Kasama namin ngayon ang mga local media at human righs defender dito sa Zamboanga del Sur. Totoo SCAA deploy and may malaking hinukay ang kanilang backhoe like sa Ampatuan, pls help” the text message sent by Pedrano said.
The message was later aired by a local radio station and an online publication.
In a report sent by Capt. Albert Caber of the 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, the military said the backhoe was earlier sent by the mining company to clear a portion of the road that was blocked by mud.
He said the clearing operations started before the journalists arrived.
Caber was also surprised why the group insisted on using the route that was considered risky due to erosion.
“They should have used the Balabag-Bayug road instead. It is much safer and there were no landslides along that route. I’m really wondering why they wanted to pass through that road when there is a better option,” Caber said.
Pendatun, the commander of the 53rd Infantry Battalion that administers the Special CAFGU, went to the area to help the journalists.
He met two of them, Michael Navarro and Efren Suferal. Their 8 companions went home as of 3:00 p.m. (Monday).
“Navarro and Suferal said that they were never approached by any military men in the landslide scene. They were also surprised that an alarming text message was already circulated, telling that they were all held hostage by the CAFGU personnel,” said Pendatun.
He added that all of the journalists went home as of 5:00 p.m. Monday.
“I hope that the truth will prevail regarding this issue,” Caber said. (ABS-CBN)
Link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/02/20/12/army-denies-journalists-held-hostage-zambo-sur
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