Philippine communist militants said they are holding a Philippine soldier prisoner whose unit was accused of being behind the murders of civilians in the southern province of Compostela Valley.Daniel Ibarra, a spokesman for the New People Army, said Private First Class Rodello Canada Arigonan is being held as prisoner of war. The soldier was captured during an NPA raid on the headquarters of the 71st Infantry Battalion. Ibarra claimed 11 army soldiers were killed and injured in the attack.
Ibarra said, "The [Philippine military] perpetrates the worst forms of violence in the countryside with its US-designed Oplan Bayanihan. The military's counter-revolutionary campaign forces the evacuation and dislocation of peasants to kowtow to the interest of land grabbers and big miners in Compostela Valley. Military units, like the children killer 71st Infantry Battalion, are responsible for the most despicable crimes against the people.
"As the NPA keeps custody of Arigonan as its prisoner of war, it will hold accountable elements of the reactionary armed force who continue to abuse poor peasants and indigenous peoples in the countryside. The NPA actively seeks and pursues revolutionary justice in the face of the US-Aquino regime's continuing apathy."