The 7ID was reacting to the claim of the Alay Bayan Inc. (ABI), whose task includes helping disaster victims, that soldiers had been harassing its members, thus prompting them to defer delivering relief goods to folk displaced by the recent Typhoon Lawin in Nueva Vizcaya.
This, even as the 7ID offered its services to ABI in its mission to help people in need of help.
It also said that “if truly the ABI seeks to help and give their services, the 7ID is willing to assist them in the spirit of bayanihan.”
“The ABI is welcome to collaborate with 7ID, so that together, we can help people in the remotest of places within the 7ID area of responsibility. The 7ID will even go so far as to off er its transportation assets to help bring their relief goods and the soldiers will help bring the supplies to the people,” the 7ID said in a statement.
Reacting to the allegations of ABI, the 7ID said it “does not resort to harassment of cause-oriented groups, much less commit murder. It will course its concerns through legal means to establish its claim and will never violate the rights of its people.”
The ABI had also implicated the 7ID in the killing of its former head German missionary Willem Geertman who was shot dead in his office in San Fernando, Pampanga in 2012.
The 7ID said it “recognizes and supports the current ceasefire between the Government and CPP-NPA-NDF and will never commit any act that will jeopardize the peace talks. “
It also noted that “the purported harassment that took place over a telephone conversation which was dated November 4, 2016 cannot in any way be a reason for the suspension of delivery of humanitarian aid that was supposed to be on October 24, 2016, unless the ABI has devised a machine that could transport them into the future and predict the phone conversation that would happen after the delivery of the aid.”
“Such irregularities point to the undeniable fact that the ABI is intent on maligning 7ID who has done nothing to warrant such accusations,” the statement said.
The 7ID also said that “based on the info gathered from their (ABI) website,” the ABI was also concerned with “political abuse.”
“The Oplan Bayanihan which ABI claims to be a tool being used by the military to ‘spy’ on their activities is in actual fact truly a tool, not to spy, but to get close to the people. It has nothing do with spying but everything to do with delivering the basic social services that the government has no means to deliver in far-off places,” the 7ID said.
The 7ID said it has been “advocating the Bayanihan concept of operation wherein the participation of various stakeholders including non-government organizations willing to help the civilian populace in need.”
“Since President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of ceasefire, the 7ID has not launched any combat operations against the CNN. Instead, the Command focused on Bayanihan Team Activities aimed at Civil Military Operations to help alleviate the living conditions of our less fortunate brothers in the remote areas,” the statement said.
Maj. Gen. Angelito De Leon, commander of the 7ID, said he “believes that with proper coordination, raised issues can be erased since they have similar goals which is to help the people who were affected by natural calamities.”
“Let us all give peace a chance and help each other create an environment conducive to development. Sama-sama po tayo sa pagtulong at pagbibigay serbisyo sa ating mga kababayan. Isantabi na po natin ang hidwaan para sa ikauunlad ng ating bansa,” he added.
