Philippine military probes facebook abuse video
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The Philippine military said on Saturday they are investigating a purported torture video posted on facebook that appears to show uniformed soldiers abusing defenceless prisoners.
Investigators are checking the identities of the uniformed men shown repeatedly hitting and kicking a group of at least three people in civilian clothes, said military spokesman Brigadier General Jose Mabanta.
"We are the first to be concerned about this. We have said we will not do these (abuses), then we see it right in our faces," Mabanta told AFP.
Officials also want to know when and where it happened, if indeed it actually happened, Mabanta said.
The poor-quality footage shows the men lying on the ground of a coconut plantation. The captives' hands are tied behind their backs and hoods placed over their heads while men in military-style uniforms shout at and swear at them.
Colonel Domingo Tutaan, head of the military's human rights office, said the military would also try to find out what happened to the supposed victims.
"The intent of the investigation is to determine the culpability of soldiers and if there is culpability, we will file immediately a case in accordance with the military justice system," he said.
The video is on the public facebook site of "Bautista Peter John" and includes statements against the Philippine and United States armed forces.
The site owner acknowledged AFP's requests to provide more information on the footage but then did not immediately provide them.
Although US troops are helping train local forces to battle Islamic extremists, there are no American troops seen in the video.
The supposed abusers were apparently wearing a uniform that was issued to the Philippine Marines some three or four years ago, said Navy spokesman Captain Giovanni Carlo Bacordo.
"Whether it happened five years ago or on Friday, the Armed forces does not tolerate human rights violations," he told AFP.
Human rights groups have complained of a "culture of impunity" in the Philippines that allows powerful figures to kill or abuse political rivals, journalists, lawyers and others who get in their way.
President Benigno Aquino, who took office in June last year, has vowed to improve the government's human rights record and cracked down on reported cases of police torture.
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