GMA to critics: I’m no Am-Girl

Accepting help from Americans does not an "Am-girl" make.

President Arroyo took exception yesterday to her being called an "American girl" by left-leaning groups for allowing US troops into the country for joint war exercises with Filipino soldiers.

Speaking in her weekly radio/TV program "May Gloria ang Bukas Mo," Mrs. Arroyo tried to shake off the Am-girl tag unceremoniously bestowed on her by local anti-American groups.

"They said I am an ‘Am-Girl’ because I supposedly accept the help of the Americans," Mrs. Arroyo told her guests consisting of families and relatives of Abu Sayyaf victims who were kidnapped, beheaded or simply killed.

"Help me convince them that Abu Sayyaf are more ferocious enemies than the Americans," she urged her guests who spoke in support of her administration’s decision to launch Balikatan 02-1 against the bandits in Basilan.

This was a day after Bayan Muna led by Teddy Casiño and other groups of similar ideological persuasion criticized Mrs. Arroyo for allowing the RP-US "Balikatan 02-1" joint military training exercises.

At a press conference Friday, Casiño accused the President of committing the same mistakes as the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, tagged as "the original Am-boy" for kowtowing to "US imperialism."

Casiño and other leaders of the left announced their plans of making a caricature of Mrs. Arroyo draped in stars and stripes when they conduct their own celebration of the 16th anniversary of the people power revolution of 1986 through protest rallies in Mendiola and other areas.

This is the second consecutive week that she has invited as guests to her show victims of Abu Sayyaf atrocities and the respective families of those killed by the extremists.

One of them, Joel Guillo, a kidnap victim last year, recounted how the male hostages were maltreated and beaten up while the women were raped.

Listening to the ordeal of the Abu Sayyaf victims as recounted by Guillo, Mrs. Arroyo expressed bewilderment why such leftist groups could easily denounce the Americans for supposedly bringing back with them "prostitution" as the war games are held in Basilan and Zamboanga City.

"They say once the Americans arrive, the GROs (guest relations officers) might go there and the Americans will buy them for entertainment," she said.

"That is precisely what we have prohibited. Why do they (leftists) score the hospitality girls? Our own women were being raped by these Abu Sayyaf," she deplored.

Guillo said those who were "noisily" opposed to Balikatan 02-1 are just the militant groups which do not consider the plight of the residents directly affected by the terrorist band.

Guillo, an accounting clerk, was one of four workers of the Dr. Jose Torres Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan, who were kidnapped and held hostage by the Muslim bandits.

After four months and 12 days in captivity, Guillo told the President he was able to escape from the Abu Sayyaf while the bandits tried to fend off pursuing military troopers.

Paquito Bayona, brother of the late Armando Bayona who was beheaded by the extremists, told Mrs. Arroyo how he barely recognized the remains of his brother when they recovered the cadaver, which bore signs of torture and mutilation.

Bayona said when he saw the video footage of how the Abu Sayyaf rebels beheaded their captured soldiers, he was reminded of his brother whose head was chopped from behind.

"I am just wondering why our government, when they capture Abu Sayyaf members, they treat them well but when Abu Sayyaf capture soldiers, they kill them," Bayona rued.

"But why are the civilian victims not being given such human rights protection? How can our human rights be protected too and be given justice?" he asked the President.

Mrs. Arroyo explained to Bayona that government soldiers are duty bound to respect the human rights of suspects even if they may be Abu Sayyaf.

"Our soldiers are very careful because there might be incidents of human rights violations and they will be charged in court for them," she said, even as she bewailed that executioners like the Abu Sayyaf still have their advocates.

She said the left glosses over and even tolerates the human rights violations of the Abu Sayyaf.

"That is why it’s difficult to understand why they (militant groups) object (to Balikatan 02-1)," she said. — Marichu Villanueva