MANILA: Relatives of a security guard and a human rights group accused Philippine government troops yesterday of mistaking the man for a communist rebel leader and torturing him earlier this month.
But regional military spokesman Col. Generoso Bolina said the man was Benjamin Mendoza and was using the name of security guard Rolly Panesa as an alias.
Bolina said the military has at least four witnesses, including former New People’s Army guerrillas, who have identified Mendoza and will testify in murder and kidnapping charges against him.
Panesa’s employer, Megaforce Security Services Corp., and his sister Josie Panesa said he has been working as a security guard for the same company since 1995. They also said that he is only 48 years old while the real Mendoza is 61.
A medical report from the Health Action for Human Rights, whose staff examined Panesa at a police jail near Manila three days after he was arrested Oct. 6, said he suffered numerous bruises, his face was puffy from the beatings and that he had injuries to an eye and an ear, and one tooth was chipped.
Bolina said the military will punish those found responsible if the torture allegations are true.
He earlier reported that troops had captured Mendoza in suburban Quezon city along with three other suspected insurgents.
Separately, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said yesterday he hopes the new leaders who take over China next month can improve bilateral ties that were strained following a standoff early this year at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
Relations have slightly improved due to recent talks, Aquino said, and since Philippine ships pulled out of the Scarborough Shoal. He said Chinese vessels have been in and out but there is freedom of navigation.
But the core issue — who has sovereign rights over the tiny, uninhabited rocks off the northern Philippine island of Luzon — has not been resolved and overshadows relations.
The Philippines wants international arbitration, which Beijing has ruled out. Manila also wants a broader agreement between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to tackle the disputes, while China prefers to negotiate individually with each claimant.
Philippines accused of mistaking guard for rebel
