Due
to improving peace and order situation in Maguindanao, the Philippine Army will
be redeploying one of the battalions stationed in the area to Compostela Valley
He
said that the redeployment is made possible as the government's peace pact with
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seems to be holding.
“That’s
one of the reasons. There’s already a relative peace here except for the
intermittent incidents,” Hermoso added in Filipino.
The
6th Infantry Division spokesperson is referring to sporadic harassment attacks
perpetuated by members of the "Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters"
(BIFF), the group that broke away from the MILF.
“There’s
also the exigency and the need… there are other areas around the country
wherein the additional presence of Army troops is needed,” Hermoso said.
Ranking
military leaders have ordered the transfer of the 46th Infantry Battalion to Compostela Valley ,
detaching it from the operational control of the 6th Infantry Division and
putting it under the control of the 10th Infantry Division, which is based in Compostela Valley
The
46th Infantry battalion is currently based at Camp Waray
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=642768
The redeployment of Philippine military assets from the MILF front to counter the activities of the New People's Army is key reason why the Communist Party of the Philippines opposed the GRP-MILF peace agreement in its propaganda output.
ReplyDeleteCPP front groups such as KARAPATAN and the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) can be expected to oppose and to seek to discredit this redeployment of the 46th Infantry Battalion to Compostela Valley area. They will argue that the redeployment will mean a rise in human rights violations against innocent civilians and the "militarization" of Compostela Valley.