“These operations violating human rights and imposing false accusations and trumped-up charges against civilians are recurring.”
CAGAYAN DE ORO — Criminal charges were filed against 12 personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over the alleged massacre of three civilians in Sitio Alas-as, Barangay Sinunuc, Zamboanga City.
According to information released by the city government, murder raps were filed against two soldiers, while charges of criminal negligence were filed against 10 other military personnel — including Col. Danilo Ambe, commander of Joint Task Force Zamboanga.
These were referred by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Zamboanga City to the Office of the City Prosecutor on Wednesday, April 29.
On April 23, three members of the Alfad family were killed, including a 12-year-old child, during a law enforcement operation to serve arrest warrants against a certain Saddam Siddik, reportedly a member of an armed group and who was spotted in the area.
The fatalities were Jerry, a member of the barangay’s Lupong Tagapamayapa, his 12-year-old son Salam, and his 22-year-old nephew Rayyan who were reportedly asleep when the midnight operation was carried out. One family member was also wounded.
The military earlier claimed that an armed encounter took place but witnesses have refuted this as well as the claim that a firearm and a hand grenade was allegedly recovered at the crime scene.
Read:Groups decry ‘massacre’ in Zamboanga City
Concerned groups denounced the killing of three civilians, calling for an impartial investigation that is independent of the involved units.
The filing of charges, however, raises questions since, based on the information released by the city government, not a single case was filed against police personnel even if the PNP participated in the operation.
On May 1, PNP Zamboanga Peninsula released an update, saying that the special investigation task group (SITG) created to look into the case has also recommended the filing of administrative charges against police personnel involved in the operation after it identified procedural lapses.
Amirah Ali Lidasan, secretary general of Moro-Christians Peoples Alliance (MCPA), a network advocating for Moro people’s rights, stressed that both law enforcement agencies should be held accountable.
“This is not an isolated incident. These operations violating human rights and imposing false accusations and trumped-up charges against civilians are recurring,” she added, citing claims they received that there was also no firefight that occurred when ten alleged members of the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group were killed in an operation in Lanao del Sur on April 17, contrary to the military’s accounts.
The SITG has yet to make its initial findings public. (JDS)
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