Gov't to probe alleged ML abuses

MALACAÑANG said Saturday that it will look into the reported human rights abuses amid the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the current administration would not allow any members of the police and the military to perpetrate violations of human rights and the Constitution.

Abella said those who will be found guilty of committing crimes under military rule enforcement in Mindanao will face appropriate charges.

"The President, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Department of National Defense Secretary who is the Mindanao administrator for martial law do not encourage or tolerate abuses by the military or the police in Mindanao or elsewhere," Abella said in a statement read on staterun dzRB.

"We will investigate. And if evidence warrants prosecute and punish all those who committed abuses, especially sexual violence against women," he added.

Abella's statement came after the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) – Lanao del Sur Chapter denounced the alleged illegal search and seizure operations by security forces in Marawi City.

In a statement dated June 9, the lawyers' group in Lanao del Sur province said that while it supports President Rodrigo Duterte's imposition of martial rule in Mindanao, it does not turn a blind eye on the human rights violations perpetrated during its implementation.

The IBP-Lanao del Sur said "utterly shocked" was a mild term to describe how the lawyers felt about the "sheer magnitude of wanton disregard" of human rights.

It enumerated the "searches without warrants, unauthorized intrusions, forcible entries", and "ransacking" of residential and commercial establishments, and "total disregard" of plain view doctrine in searches and seizure activities as among the five violations of the Constitution committed by the government forces.