The Diocese of San Carlos has expressed its support for the probe being conducted by the military and police on the reported existence of an independent armed group allegedly linked to rebel-turned Don Salvador Benedicto Councilor Vicente "Oti" Bacordo.

San Carlos Bishop Jose Advincula, in his letters to Maj. Gen. Alphonsus Crucero, 3rd Infantry Division commander, and Senior Supt. Charles Calima, PNP provincial director, said that if there is an armed group which is in possession of lethal weapons of coercion, and is distinct from and independent of the Armed Forces and National Police, this is a matter that concerns his office most deeply.

"As the pastor of my flock, I give utmost consideration to their human security, the most basic of which involves freedom from fear," Advincula said in his letters to Crucero and Calima, copies of which were furnished to the DAILY STAR.

Calima had earlier the confirmed the presence of an armed group in Don Salvador Benedicto, reportedly armed with assorted guns.

Two families who are contesting the ownership of a disputed land in Brgy. Kumaliskis, Salvador Benedicto, with the family of Conrado Abay whose daughter-in-law is a niece of Bacordo, asked the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the reported existence of the armed group.

Jolly Toledano and Noel Benedicto claimed that they were harassed, allegedly by the group of Bacordo.

Police investigations show that the ownership of the 13-hectare disputed property, had already been awarded to the Abay family by Judge Danilo Tenerife almost five years ago.

The land conflict between the families of Toledano, Española and Benedicto, and Abay recently triggered an encounter between soldiers and a group of armed men.

Advincula said the presence of such armed group, if proven to exist, could gravely undermine the environment where individuals can make their choices safely and freely.*GPB

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