"It’s the same dog, only with a different tag," Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said on the appointment of Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri as new armed forces chief of staff. "In fact, all candidates for the position are certified implementers of the internal peace and security plan Oplan Bayanihan, which resulted in the killing, disappearance and displacement of innocent civilians," Palabay said.
"It’s the same dog, only with a different tag," Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said on the appointment of Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri as new armed forces chief of staff. "In fact, all candidates for the position are certified implementers of the internal peace and security plan Oplan Bayanihan, which resulted in the killing, disappearance and displacement of innocent civilians," Palabay said.
As Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri “led the whole Philippine Army in perpetrating human rights violations and international humanitarian law across the country, especially in the Mindanao regions,” she added.
As of the second quarter of 2015, there are 262 documented victims of extrajudicial killings and 293 victims of frustrated killings; and more than 60,000 persons displaced and dislocated due to military combat operations in the countryside.
During his stint as chief of the 503rd Infantry Battalion assigned in Abra, communities were bombed. In one of the bombings, two girls were almost hit in the villages of Umnap, Buanao, and Lat-ey in the municipality of Malibcong in 2013.
"As Army Chief, he even praised his men who "won" battles against members of the New People’s Army despite violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Such is the case of the firefight in Lacub, Abra, in September 2014 where the eight NPA fighters killed bore torture marks and civilians were killed. Gen. Iriberri even awarded the soldiers with medals of valor," Palabay said.
The AFP should not boast of killing and jailing members of the NPAs because as far as our records show, those killed were civilians and all of the arrests were illegal—making use of false criminal charges and in violation of peace agreements between the GPH and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,” Palabay said.
"Together with the new AFP chief of staff, the BS Aquino regime will leave a bloodied legacy. As for now, Aquino is going berserk in beating the deadline as he approaches his end—not to do good deeds for the Filipino people, but to fulfill his promise to his masters to neutralize the so-called enemies of the state. But Aquino’s presidency will definitely come to an end. The power of the people stays,” ended Palabay. ###