00:00 The military was turned away from the press conference that the government called
00:06 when they accused the two missing activists of being corrupt.
00:11 The two were even asked to explain to the government
00:14 how they were accused of tactical interrogation and torture.
00:18 This was in the video released by the National Task Force
00:22 to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-LCAC
00:26 where the two ran away from the group "Akap Ka" and "Tinutukan Yan Lat" by June Veneracion.
00:32 June?
00:36 Mel, Emil, Pia, at first, the two environmental activists who were missing in Bataan
00:42 were in front of the public.
00:44 They were invited by government officials here in the municipality of Plaridel, Bulacan
00:49 to explain.
00:51 But what happened? Unexpectedly, they ran away.
00:56 We will not talk today.
01:00 The government and the military called the press conference
01:04 to make the lie that they accused the environmentalists
01:08 of being "Johnny La Castro" and "Jed Reyana Tamano"
01:12 Did they accuse us or were we surprised by the consumer?
01:17 The two were surprised by the words.
01:20 The truth is that the military and the van chased us.
01:25 We were also forced to surrender.
01:29 Our lives were threatened. That's the truth.
01:32 The two of the group "Akap Ka" said that they were against the reclamation project in Manila Bay
01:37 which also affects Bataan where they were repeatedly missing.
01:41 They were chased by the military on September 2 at night
01:44 and were put in a van while being chained.
01:47 We were walking on the street when someone chased us.
01:53 The SUV stopped in front of us and we were chased by the police.
01:58 We were forced to join them.
02:00 That's the truth.
02:02 We thought that they were the military.
02:05 But they recognized us.
02:09 They were put in a tactical interrogation and were forced to surrender.
02:13 They were forced to surrender.
02:17 They threatened our lives and our families.
02:20 They recognized the other members of the group "Savage".
02:28 Johnny La said that the military just released the two of them who surrendered.
02:33 We were not forced to go to the military's custody.
02:38 The military did not do that.
02:43 We were not able to do anything about it.
02:48 Johnny La's statement was cut short.
02:52 The reclamation projects are happening there.
02:55 The problem is that the fish are losing their lives.
02:58 That's the real issue here.
03:00 Johnny La, please help us find the person who can say that they were caught.
03:08 The press con was held for four days after the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-LCAC,
03:17 was released.
03:18 According to the two environmental activists, they fled to the group "Akapka".
03:23 Earlier, the officials just poured cold water on them, but they were proven to have returned to the government.
03:31 They were asked to face the media for clarification.
03:35 But the news was different.
03:38 We are holding them because if they have a custody, if they have a paper,
03:44 we will help them in their surrender.
03:54 That's why we are arranging a process.
03:57 But we did not do anything about it.
04:00 We are just helping them.
04:03 We are surprised that we don't know what happened.
04:06 The officers themselves, they were using soldiers.
04:10 We saw on the interrogation paper that it said "17-I.D."
04:14 That's why I don't believe that the commander doesn't know that we are being held.
04:20 Regarding this allegation, we will stand by the report of AFB.
04:27 After the press conference, the two activists were held in the municipality of Plaridel,
04:33 where they were forced to surrender to be released.
04:39 In the middle of the tension, a police officer was separated from them.
04:43 And the next negotiation was to bring Junila and Jed to the office of the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City,
04:52 which was in accordance with their wishes.
04:55 And before 6 p.m., Junila and Jed were turned over to the Commission on Human Rights.
05:07 There, a group of militants gathered to condemn the torture they did.
05:14 Here in the municipality of Plaridel, Bolacan, the situation is calm and normal.
05:20 Pia?
05:21 Thank you very much, Jun Veneracion.
05:25 [News Anchor]
05:27 [News Anchor]
05:40 [Music]
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