ILOILO City – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed its troops were never involved in human rights violations in Western Visayas in the past five years.
“Hindi tayo nakatanggap ng reklamo sa ating sundalo sa mga nakaraang taon,” Major Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), said, citing their records since 2017.
According to Pancito, the AFP has been emphatic about its position against human rights violation.
He acknowledged there were complaints but no criminal and administrative cases were filed in courts.
“We always instill discipline on our soldiers. We remind them to maintain their good community image and avoid actions that violate human rights,” Pancito said.
Recently, the 3ID, through the 301st Infantry Brigade (301IB) led by Brigadier General Marion Sison, initiated talks with the Commission on Rights (CHR) Region 6.
Sison said the dialogue with Director Jonnie Dabuco aims to fortify the Army’s partnership with CHR-6 in promoting and defending human rights of Western Visayans.
“The CHR and the Army have something in common – we both aspire for a violent-free community. With this, we can openly work together to attain this goal while putting the people’s well-being on top of every shared endeavor we will be taking in the future,” Sison said./PN
