When one listens to all the din created by some non-government organizations, the military is guilty of oppression and persecution as well as harassment of countryside residents.
But for once, on Tuesday, Kabankalan Bishop Patricio Buzon paid tribute to the military personnel assigned to his diocese in southern Negros Occidental as “very good.”
And Buzon went farther than just giving his own impression about the soldiers and the military establishments. He pointed out that he learned during his pastoral visits that the people in the rural areas are happy with the presence of the military in their respective areas.
In short, Buzon was sharing with the public his perception of what his flock was telling him – that they welcome the presence of the military.
That’s a far cry from what we usually hear from left-leaning groups, which vocally dish out charges of harassment and disrespect for human rights against the military.
Buzon spoke during the first celebration of the Church-Military Advisory Group-Negros.
His words must have elated Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado of the Philippine Army who attended the anniversary rites with Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra and Negros Occidental Gov. Isidro Zayco.
Both prelates – Buzon and Navarra – also stressed that the very heart of Jesus’ Gospel calls for love and forgiveness, pointing out that peace and development can become a reality only if God is at the center.
Well, amen to that.
Couple, hired gunman charged
The shooting on Tuesday afternoon of 54-year-old French Genevieve Sonias Mass, single, was speedily solved with the arrest and subsequent admission by Danao City resident Melcorito Alcala, 31, that he had been given an initial P2,000 of the P20,000 promised him to kill Genevieve over an alleged property conflict in France.
Genevieve was riding a tricycle along Ledesma street in Barangay 5, San Carlos City when Alcala allegedly shot her.
She temporarily resided in Barangay Ermita on Sipaway Island off San Carlos City, and had just touched down in San Carlos when she was fatally shot.
Alcala named Rose and Abdullah Benamirouch as the ones who allegedly contracted him to kill Genevieve. Abdullah is French, while Rose is a Filipina.
The San Carlos police later picked up the Benamirouch couple and filed the corresponding charges against them, together with Alcala.
Another feather on the police cap
The San Carlos City police and the Iloilo provincial police etched another accomplishment on Tuesday when they rescued two 16-year-old girls and four others reportedly trafficked in Iloilo City and forced to work as guest relations officers at a KTV bar in Oton, Iloilo.
The rescued girls were recruited in San Carlos City with the promise of a P1,500 monthly pay to work as babysitters in Iloilo City.
Their recruiters were identified as Gilda Dino and couple Aida and Efren Cava, owners of the KTV bar. The girls were rescued by a joint team of the Criminal Investigation and Detention Group-Negros, San Carlos PNP Women and Children’s Desk and the Iloilo police led by Senior Superintendent Ricardo de la Paz, a former police chief of San Carlos.
Police are readying charges for violation of Republic Act 9208 or Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 against the suspects.
This is one of the few cases rapidly solved with the quick response and cooperation by the police forces of Iloilo province and San Carlos City.
That, to a certain extent, is something that other law enforcement units should emulate.