MANILA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The Philippines stripped an army lieutenant of his command and sent his 100-member unit on a "cultural sensitivity" course after an investigation into charges of torture of three men, an officer said on Wednesday. The three men, two of them members of a local tribe, were arrested on Mindoro island, south of Manila, early in October on suspicion they were members of the communist New People's Army. In their sworn statements, the men said they were forced to admit they were rebels and made to produce "guns and documents". When they failed, they were stripped of their clothes, beaten and water was poured into their noses. "There was an investigation done by our higher headquarters after we got complaints from the local community," said Lieutenant-Colonel Arnie Matanguihan. "We cannot tolerate human rights abuse." Hundreds of leftwing activists have been murdered in recent years and the United Nations said in February that Philippine soldiers were behind the killings. The military, battling a long-running communist rebellion, has denied it has a policy of targeting leftist activists. It has blamed rogue troops and internal purges within the NPA for the death and disappearance of hundreds of community activists. Last month, the Supreme Court, alarmed at the killings, introduced new rules forcing the army to probe allegations against its soldiers and produce evidence. Matanguihan said he had met with local church and tribal leaders to settle the problem, agreeing to provide money for medical treatment of the three men. "Our troops would be asked to take part in some tribal ritual next month as a symbol of settling the problem," he added.(Reporting by Manny Mogato, editing by Carmel Crimmins and Sanjeev Miglani)
