The
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday announced that it has
sustained momentum against the New People's Army (NPA) for the first six months
of 2013.
Military-initiated
engagements from January to June this year increased by 38 at 350 compared to
the 312 recorded from the same period last year.
From
this figure, the Eastern Mindanao Command recorded the most engagements with
252 as compared to 207 from last year’s first semester.
AFP
public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said these figures are
considerably higher than the NPA-initiated violent incidents recorded at 173
from January to June this year, although they have conducted 11 incidents
higher than from the same period last year.
He
added that the number of apprehended NPAs is also significantly higher this
year at 99, as compared to 50 from the first semester of 2012.
Zagala
also pointed out that the AFP’s alleged mission-related human rights violations
(HRVs) have declined since the implementation of IPSP "Bayanihan" in
2010.
In
the first semester of 2013, the AFP posted seven alleged HRVs, an optimistic
figure compared to 22 of 2012; 37 of 2011; and 51 of 2010.
There
are a total of 164 HRV cases since 2010 including cases that are personal in
nature.
Out
of these, 47 were resolved and were submitted for listing in the Commission on
Human Rights, while 117 are pending resolution or for further investigation.
Recent
developments in the national effort to address human rights violations in the
country also prove that the government is serious in stopping abuses.
Just
last April, the Interagency Committee headed by the Department of Justice
signed and approved its operational guidelines.
At
the same time, the Technical Working Group also compiled the 101 priority human
rights cases that are under investigation or are on trial.
Zagala
said the AFP Human Rights Office’ efforts in inculcating the principles of
Human Rights, International Humanitarian Laws, and the Rule of Law among
soldiers are also ongoing through various trainings, workshops, advocacy
campaigns, and information dissemination held at all levels of the military
organization.
The
AFP is expected to maintain its control on the momentum of internal security
operations in 2013 through human rights-based focused military operations
targeting the NPAs.
"The
AFP will continue to implement a multi-faceted approach to address the root
causes of insurgency in support to the agenda of the government for national
development," Zagala concluded.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=543276
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