Army denies existence of military hit list

The Army has strongly denied the existence of a military hit list against human rights advocates helping lumad communities in Davao del Norte and Bukidnon.

“The hit list allegation is a figment of the accusers’ imagination,” said Col. Benjamin Hao, Army public affairs office chief.

“There is no such thing as hit list in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Everybody knows that only the New People’s Army is making a hit list,” Hao said.

Hao emphasized that “the AFP is the protector of the Filipino people, whatever his or her social, political, or economic leaning is.”

The Army issued the statement after lawmakers and human rights advocates went to the Supreme Court to seek a Writ of Amparo after learning that their names were in the hit list.

The petitioners claimed that their inclusion in the list was due to their efforts to help lumad communities in Mindanao who are complaining of military harassment.

Meanwhile, AFP Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Aurelio B. Baladad has called for the forging of a peace pact known as “tampudah” to win the peace in lumad communities in the Caraga region.

The Eastmincom said concerned tribal leaders, elders, and their spiritual leaders called “babailan” will facilitate the realization of this pact with the commitment of support from the local government units and concerned stakeholders in Surigao and Agusan.

“We strongly support to this pact among lumads because this is the key to peace within their ancestral lands. We respect their culture,” Baladad said.

Tampudah is the highest gesture of unity among the warring tribes that will solve conflicts and misunderstanding among the lumads.

On September 1, three civilians were killed in Sitio Han-ayan, Narangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur after they were attacked by 20 unidentified armed men.