Gabriela Holds Esperon Liable for Girl's Death

"No less than AFP chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. should be held liable for the death of 9-year old Grecil. He and his cohorts even used the child's death for their witchhunt propaganda," said Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela Women's Party.

Members of Gabriela Women's Party joined the family of Grecil Buya and Salinlahi Alliance of Children's Concerns in a protest action this morning in front of the Department of National Defense calling for justice for 9-year old Grecil Buya who shot and killed by the military in Compostela Valley last March 31.

Grecil was earlier tagged by the military as a child combatant but this was refuted by Grecil's parents and was affirmed by a fact-finding mission of children's rights advocates last April 14.

Even Gen. Carlos Holganza, the commanding general of the 1001st Infantry Batallion said last April 13 that based on the military's preliminary investigation, that Grecil "was not a child combatant."

"It is shuddering to think how many more Grecils the AFP will kill especially with a fascist war-mongering government we have," Maza concluded. ###

Reference: Rep. Liza Largoza-Maza, Gabriela Women's Partylist
(09209134540)
Cristina Palabay, GWP Secretary General (09175003879)
Gabriela Women's Partylist Headquarters (9284007)