Presidential aspirant Leody De Guzman and senatorial candidate David D' Angelo claim that government troops only stood by and watched the shooting incident unfold on Tuesday, April 19, in Quezon, Bukidnon.
Five people suffered injuries after armed men opened fire on the party of De Guzman and D'Angelo while they accompanied leaders of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe.
The incident happened on a portion of land in Brgy. Butong, Quezon claimed by the Manobo-Pulangiyon as part of their ancestral domain, and the Kiantig Pineapple Company, which reportedly has links to Quezon mayor Pablo Lorenzo III.
De Guzman and D' Angelo said that the Manobo-Pulangiyon informed the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and other government agencies that the indigenous group will enter the area.
The two candidates also alleged that the military arrived in the area but they did not intervene or chase after the armed assailants.
"Meron kasi doon pinadala na isang squad ng military na nandoon para magmatyag at ang sabi ay kikilos sila kapag may lumabag sa batas," D' Angelo shared during DZRH's Breaktime.
"Nung may namamaril, sila ay lumabas ng sasakyan at tumayo. Hindi man lang sila tumulong doon sa mga nasugatan. Hindi ko alam kung tama o mali yung ginawa nila pero dapat siguro nag-intervene man lang sila doon para matigil yung putukan," he added.
De Guzman believes that Lorenzo might have conspired with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
"Nandoon lang sila sa kalsada, sa highway. Nagtakbuhan yung mga tao, gumugulong yung mga tao, takot na takot. Pumunta sa kanila yung mga tao, hindi man lang sila pumasok at tinignan kung sino yung namamaril o hulihin yung mga namamaril," De Guzman said during DZRH's Dos Por Dos.
"Iyon yung problem. May duda ako na sabwatan nung ahensya ng gobyerno, nung mayor, nung land-grabber, and even itong AFP," the Presidential candidate added.
D' Angelo also mentioned that the Manobo-Pulangiyon cannot be considered trespassing in the area since the NCIP and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have already issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC) in 1998.
