‘Troops not meant to scare, but to secure people’

MANILA, Philippines — The sending of additional troops to parts of Southern Luzon and the Visayas was meant to secure the public, Malacañang said yesterday, after some groups expressed concern that the deployment would be used to suppress political dissent.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Memorandum Order (MO) No. 32, which called for the immediate deployment of additional soldiers and policemen in Samar, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and the Bicol region, is not related to the upcoming elections.

“The memorandum precisely and expressly says that we should respect the rights of the individual. (MO 32) was done pursuant to the constitutional duty of the President to protect and preserve the people,” Panelo said at a press briefing.

“There were series of acts committed against civilians, against soldiers and policemen in those areas and therefore there is a need to deploy troops, as well as Philippine National Police (PNP) forces in that area to secure the people, for their own safety and peace of the area,” he added.

But Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares urged President Duterte not to use the memorandum against the opposition, noting that the document was issued just a few months before the midterm polls.

“Even if (the MO) has anything to do with that, the more Mr. Colmenares should be happy… because you will be securing the area during election time,” Panelo said.

Panelo said the deployment is necessary because of killings, ambushes and destruction of properties in the areas mentioned in the memorandum.

The memorandum labeled the incidents as “lawless violence.” – Emmanuel Tupas, Delon Porcalla, Gilbert Bayoran