Media Release
08 February 2010
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is on a witch-hunt in its
desperate attempt to showcase any success of Oplan Bantay Laya!”
Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) directly linked the illegal
arrest and detention of 43 doctors and health workers to the Arroyo
regime’s counter-insurgency campaign, which over the years have
targeted civilians rather than armed groups.
“After blatantly disregarding the most fundamental tenets of due
process, the AFP now has the gall to prop up false charges against
those whose basic rights they have violated,” said Dr. Geneve E.
Rivera, HEAD Secretary-General.
HEAD is reacting to reports of the AFP information office that the
raid conducted last Saturday in Morong, Rizal is “the biggest arrests
of communist rebels in memory”. The AFP further alleges that Dr.
Alexis S. Montes is a member of a special unit of the New People’s
Army formed to liquidate former AFP general, Jovito Palparan.
“The lies being peddled by the AFP cannot hide the atrocities they
have committed,” declared Dr. Rivera. “The so-called ‘NPA training
camp’ is a family rest house of a respected medical consultant that
has been used many times for parties and training of health workers
and even medical students from various schools.”
“Dr. Alex Montes of Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED)
is also a known surgeon and an elder of the United Church of Christ in
the Philippines (UCCP). He received his medical degree from the
University of the East College of Medicine (Class 1976) and has since
been active in community service such that he was the UCCP national
coordinator for health services for twenty years (1986-2006)!”
According to HEAD, the mild-mannered and soft-spoken Dr. Montes is a
far cry from the communist assassin that the AFP paints him to be.
Aside from Dr. Montes, the AFP also arrested Dr. Merry Mia of the
Council for Health and Development (CHD). The 34-year-old doctor
finished medicine at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in 2001 and
has been a community physician of the Council for Health and
Development (CHD) since 2004. She is also the mother of two young
boys, one of whom is only 11 months old.
The two doctors were actively involved during the relief operations
after Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. As such, they headed the “First
Responders Training for Life Support” aimed to enable communities,
through health volunteers, to be able to respond in times of
calamities.
“Yet instead of recognizing their contribution and sacrifice, these
people are being vilified and demonized by the AFP,” added Dr. Rivera.
“Military officers like Brigadier General Jorge Segovia, Colonel
Aurelio Baladad, and Lieutenant Colonel Noel Detoyato are worse than
criminals for the sheer number of laws they violated in conducting
their illegal arrest and detention.”
“The arrogance being shown by the AFP is reflective of the utter lack
of respect for basic human rights by the Arroyo regime,” concluded Dr.
Rivera, “As the end of OBL II draws near, state security forces are
hard-pressed to show results.”
“The only thing they have now is their crimes against the Filipino people.”####
References:
Dr. Geneve E. Rivera
Secretary-General, 0920 460 3712
Dr. Darby S. Santiago
Chair, 0927 473 7700
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