InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines insisted Friday that none of the 43 health workers arrested in a 2010 raid in Morong, Rizal for being alleged members of the New People’s Army had been tortured while in detention.
AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos also maintained the arrest of the health workers in Rizal was a legitimate operation "in support of the Philippine National Police."
The health workers were arrested when police, backed by soldiers, raided a farmhouse in Morong.
Authorities claimed the 43 were undergoing explosives training, but the health workers said they were training in community health. They were later cleared of charges filed against them.
On Thursday, eight of the health workers filed torture charges against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several military and police officers.
The leadership of the AFP will provide legal assistance for its accused officers even as the military reiterated that five of the health workers had already admitted membership in the NPA.
Burgos did not discount the possibility the five would be called to testify for the defense.
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