AKLAN – The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Pamalakaya – Aklan Chapter recently launched a two-day “Humanitarian and Peace Mission” in the fishing community of Cawayan in New Washington town.
The initiative was held despite alleged attempts by the military to sabotage, intimidate and discourage participants from attending the event.
In time for their activity, according to the groups, soldiers invited their members for a 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) meeting at the barangay hall one Wednesday afternoon then tried to block them from attending the humanitarian and peace mission, and even sent intelligence operatives and conducted regularly patrolling near the mission venue.
In the said peace mission, some 40 volunteers documented cases of human rights violation.
They also distributed relief goods to fisherfolks affected by the off-season, as well as to members of Pamalakaya-Aklan “victimized by the ongoing three-month military operations in the guise of Civil Military Operations Competency Enhancement Training (CMO-CET) involving elements of the 301st Infantry Brigade and the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
The groups added that soldiers have been occupying barangay halls of various communities of urban poor, farmers, and fishermen in Aklan to conduct house-to-house visits, interviews, threats, harassment, and fake surrenders of members of organizations being red-tagged by the military as “front organizations of the CPP-NPA-NDFP.”/PN
