• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The families of six New People’s Army rebels recently killed in a gun battle with government forces were provided financial assistance from the national government on September 25, facilitated by the Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion.
In a statement, the Philippine Army said each family of the six slain rebels got P10,000 financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, with the distribution at the Kabankalan CSWDO witnessed by Mayor Benjie Miranda and 1Lt. Charmaine Sancho, Civil Military Operations chief of 47IB.
The recipients were Edna Mollon Garpen, Ariel Gaitan, Amy Mabayag, Melogina de la Peña, and Luisa Romano.
Aside from the cash assistance, the DWSD regional office in Western Visayas shouldered the funeral expenses of six slain NPA members, while the city government of Kabankalan also extended cash assistance and food packs to the family of Gaitan.
The Commission on Human Rights is slated to start today an independent probe into the encounter in Kabankalan City, as one of those killed was a pregnant woman.
In a statement, the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division maintained that it was a legitimate encounter.
We welcome any inquiry to this effect by any independent party, as the result of the investigation will eventually clear and vindicate us from various allegations of human rights violations whatsoever, Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander, said.*
