HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Soldiers Encamp in Houses, Schools

In Zamboanga del Sur (Western Mindanao) and Misamis Occidental (Northern Mindanao), the soldiers use civilian houses, barangay halls, daycare centers and public schools as military camps. Is this a case of austerity measure due to the fiscal crisis? Not likely, argues as a human rights group that denounced the military’s decision.

BY MARS S. MARATA
Bulatlat

PAGADIAN CITY – Does the military have the right to set up camp anywhere?

According to the Western Mindanao chapter of Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), setting up mobile encampments near or in areas inhabited by civilians poses risks to non-combatants and violates laws governing armed conflict.

Jenah Belza, Karapatan-Western Mindanao secretary general, said “This practice by the military renders civilians vulnerable in the event of a firefight between soldiers and other armed groups.” She was reacting to reports that the 4^th, 5^th and 10 th Infantry Battalions (IBs) have used civilian houses, barangay halls, daycare centers and public schools as military camps.

Karapatan said this practice has been done in Barangays (villages) Calabat, Nopulan, Sibukang, Nemenio, Mansanas of Josefina, Zamboanga del Sur and in barangays Lampasan, Tuno, Petianan, and Bagong Clarin of Don Victoriano, Misamis Occidental. Several barangays in the towns of San Miguel, Guipos and Tigbao in Zamboanga del Sur have also experienced the same thing, it added.

According to Belza, the practice is a violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Right and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL) signed in 1998 by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Part 4, Article 12 of CAHRIHL notes, "Civilian population shall have the right to be protected against the risks and dangers posed by the presence of military camps in urban centers and other populated areas."

Belza said that the residents are being warned by the military of joining peasant organizations that have links with party-list groups AnakPawis (Toiling Masses) and Bayan Muna (People First).

Reacting to the complaints, Lt. Col. Pedro Ancanan, Jr., commanding officer of the 10th IB based in Bag-ong Argao in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur said that what his men were doing in the said areas were legitimate operations against suspected communist guerrillas. Ancanan challenged Karapatan to file charges direct to the headquarters of the First Infantry "Tabak" Division in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur. Bulatlat

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