The Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday said it will provide legal assistance to military officers, including former Armed Forces chief Victor Ibrado, who have been charged for the alleged torture of 43 health workers arrested in Morong, Rizal, two years ago, on suspicions of being New People’s Army members.

Ibrado, of Sagay City, Negros Occidental, and then AFP chief of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was included among respondents in the torture charges, under the principle of command responsibility.

The military had claimed that the 43 health workers, five of whom later admitted to be NPA members, were undergoing explosives training. However, other health workers insisted that they were training in community health.

Ibrado, a Negrense, is now a consultant at the Department of National Defense.

Eight of the 43 health workers have pursued the filing of torture charges against Arroyo, former Army chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit and several other military officials, who are still in the active service.

AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos yesterday maintained that the arrest of the health workers in Rizal was a legitimate operation, in support of the Philippine National Police.

Burgos said the five health workers, who admitted to be NPA members, may be called to testify for the respondents, to disprove the torture claims.

“We will do everything to come up with the best defense for our soldiers,” he added.*GPB

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