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The arrest of three youth activists in Negros Oriental has drawn the usual round of outrage from militant groups who say the arrest just reflects the government?s desperation to break the back of the communist insurgency in the country.
The three from Cebu City, according to a sympathetic account by comrades, were arrested by the police and then interrogated by the military after being spotted attending a conference sponsored by the rebel groups.
According to the military, the three would not have been arrested if a companion of theirs hadn?t pulled pulled out a gun and fired at the soldiers.
In a press conference, militant groups said the three activists, particularly Maria Carla Alvarico, were visiting the remains of her best friend, Rachel Mae Palang, a Cebuana nurse and activist, killed the year before in Negros, again in a rebel versus military encounter.
The three youths were fresh graduates of major Cebu City universities.
Though Cebu province is acknowledged as an ?R and R? zone for rebels, who spare the island from major skirmishes, it has its pockets of rebel activity in rural areas and vigorous left-wing activities in the city.
Knowing this, it would be better for the military to observe transparency and accessibility in dealing with the young suspects, who may be exploring solutions to social justice by meeting with comrades in the underground, but not actually bearing arms.
A pure military approach to rooting out the insurgency has long proven counterproductive.
It proves no match for the idealism of bright, young (even if foolhardy) change agents, and with the United Nations scrutinizing reports of desaparecidos and ?missing activisits, the military always bears the burden of proof in confirming the legitimacy of their arrests.
So far there was no initial evidence that the three were engaged in acts of violence against the State.
The companion, who allegedly fired a shot that prompted gunfire from government soldiers in Zamboanguita town, Negros Oriental, was himself killed.
The suspects, though young, are not children and should take full responsibility for their presence and conduct on the ground.
But let them state their defense in conditions free of intimidation or torture.
With the 2010 target deadline to dismantle insurgency fast approaching, the military has to avoid inviting suspicion that it rides roughshod on constitutional rights of arrested persons.
Let the court decide on the weight of evidence if indeed acts of rebellion were committed.
The battle for hearts and minds will continue long after a verdict is given.
