Philippine troops march at Camp Aguinaldo at suburban Quezon city, Manila. The 130,000-strong military has been struggling to improve its image after a 2007 UN report blamed soldiers for human rights abuses. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA - THE Philippine army said on Tuesday it would review training procedures after a video was posted on the Internet showing half-naked cadets being beaten with sticks during drills.
The 130,000-strong military has been struggling to improve its image after a 2007 UN report blamed soldiers for human rights abuses, including dozens of documented political killings and disappearances of left-wing activists and suspected Maoist rebels, including journalists.
'As a matter of policy, there has to be no physical contact,' Army commander Lieutenant-General Arturo Ortiz told reporters in the capital Manila. 'We have taken preemptive and proactive measures to instill discipline in the organisation.' Lt Gen Ortiz said the incident, posted on Youtube (www.youtube.com), happened three years ago and soldiers in the video had been disciplined. -- REUTERS
