Army to investigate alleged manipulated 'surrender' photo of NPA rebels

The Philippine Army will conduct a probe into the alleged manipulated photo of the "surrender" of New People's Army rebels, its spokesperson said on Saturday.

"We will investigate and hold responsible those who violated policy on release of information," Philippine Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said in a statement.

"Our release of information is based on security, accuracy, policy and propriety," he added.

"Rest assured we hold to a high standard those who release information and a violation of policy will be dealt with accordingly," Zagala said.

Netizens on Friday criticized as manipulated the pictures that the Philippine Army released as regards the supposed recent surrender of NPA members.

The image of the row of supposed rebel returnees appeared to have been super-imposed on the photograph of rifles arranged side by side on a table.

Research by GMA News indicated that there were similar photographs of supposed rebel returnees that the military released as early as 2017.

An official of the 2nd Infantry Battalion based in Masbate said the data the military released on Friday was the consolidated number of surrenderers since April.

The pictures, on the other hand, had been recycled, the officer said.

The Philippine Army's 9th Infantry Division admitted that its line unit manipulated a picture supposedly depicting the said surrender of NPA rebels in Masbate recently.

Major Ricky Aguilar, the spokesperson of the 9th ID, said there was no intention to mislead; only to protect the identities of the "former rebels".

"In our ardent desire to release timely information, we were not able to double check the pictures we attached in our press release yesterday December 26, 2019," Aguilar said in a statement.

Aguilar said there were indeed 306 surrenderers in Masbate where negotiations began sometime October 2019. The actual surrender, he said, was done on December 26.

"Our line unit's intention is not to mislead the public, but to protect the lives of the former rebels who placed themselves at risk by surrendering to the government," Aguilar said.

"We admit to have committed a mistake though by manipulating the picture for the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of the lives of the FRs and their families. We apologize for the honest mistake. We are hoping for your kind understanding," he added. —KG, GMA News