Gabriela hits back at Lorenzana: Now who is peddling fake news?

Gabriela party-list on Tuesday lashed out the recent remarks of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on reports that soldiers had allegedly threatened women with rape if they do not evacuate war-torn Marawi City.

After Lorenzana questioned the credibility of stories obtained by “leftist groups,” the group hit back at him, saying the Defense chief was the one who supposedly “peddled fake news” due to his contradicting remarks with regards to the Marawi conflict.

“We find the statements of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana worrisome, dismissing our account as fake news and even resorting to red-tagging. We condemn such response to our concerns, as they were quick to preclude any investigation into the claims of rape threats,” Gabriela said in a statement.

“It should be remembered that it was Secretary Lorenzana who said that the crisis will be finished in a week, only to retract his self-imposed deadline. It was also the retired general who was quick to claim that [the] Marawi City Hall was taken over by armed men, a claim disputed by Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra who was there in the city hall. Now who is peddling fake news?” Gabriela added.

The group also challenged Lorenzana to personally talk to the displaced women and children of the embattled city.

“We dare Sec. Lorenzana to spend a couple of days in Marawi City and nearby evacuation centers to talk to displaced women and children instead of quickly resorting to red-tagging. With that, we hope the retired general can also come up with a more grounded assessment of the situation in Marawi, one that is not based on guesswork and imagination,” Gabriela said.

On Monday, Lorenzana said leftist claims of women being threatened with rape only exposed the motives of these groups “for the government to fail in the fight against evil in order to advance whatever selfish reasons they have.”

Meanwhile, Gabriela stood by the group’s claims and said they have the identities of the victims. But the group added that they could not disclose it to the public as it is a very sensitive issue.

“GWP has always stood in solidarity with the women and people of Mindanao in light of the crisis and the declaration of martial law and we shall continue to stand up for the women of Marawi who cannot speak out of fear,” Gabriela said.

“We are firm in our position that addressing poverty and lack of social services, instead of waging a full-blown militarist approach under martial law, is the solution to the problem of terrorism,” it added. — RSJ, GMA News