AFP not tolerating soldiers who violate human rights law, says Iriberri

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hernando Iriberri (Photo from Gov.ph)

MANILA — Military personnel, regardless of ranks, will be punished strictly if found violating various tenets of the human rights and international law.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Hernando DCA Iriberri stressed this when asked about what the military is doing in the wake of repeated complaints filed by various indigenous groups against its Eastern Mindanao-based troopers.

The complaints included harassment, grave coercion and homicide or murder.

Iriberri said the AFP is not tolerating such misdeeds as its strategy in dealing with insurgency and various other threats is based on “respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.”

Relatedly, he said the two troopers of the 68th Infantry Battalion accused of raping a 14-year-old Manobo girl are now undergoing investigation by operatives of the Philippine National Police in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

If sufficient proof is found for their misdeeds, the military will coordinate with civilian authorities in filing the necessary cases in court, he added.