Senator
Antonio Trillanes IV said on Sunday the Senate commendation for the 40 UN
Filipino peacekeepers should push through despite the claim by a United Nation
peacekeeping force official that the Filipinos violated the chain of command
and their great escape from Syrian rebels was “an act of cowardice.”
Trillanes
said the Filipino peacekeepers did the right decision to defy order of the UN
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) commander, Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singha, to
surrender their arms to the heavily-armed Syrian rebels at the recent siege of
the Golan Heights in Syria
”The
decision of our Pinoy peacekeepers was correct and we need to give them
commendation,” Trillanes, a former military officer, said in a radio dzBB
interview.
In
fact, the Navy officer-turned lawmaker said he would recommend to give the
Filipino peacekeepers combat promotion for their “display of bravery and
gallantry in action beyond the call of duty.”
”There
is no doubt that our soldiers have shown bravery,” Trillanes said.
Trillanes
said he believed the Filipino peacekeepers did not violate the chain of command
when they defied Singha and instead planned for a great escape after a
seven-hour firefight with Syrian rebels.
”We
have what we call initiative of the commander and when he saw that on the
ground, he can resort to that. There is also what we call bravery beyond the
call of duty. The call of duty was to surrender but they can still fight and it
ended in positive result,” Trillanes explained.
He
also explained: “We have overriding national interest and our chief of staff of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Trillanes
was referring to AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang who reportedly
said they would stand with Filipino UNDOF Chief of Staff Col. James Enriquez
who defied Singha’s order.
Enriquez
has reportedly offered to resign but Singha turned it down.
Due
to the decision of the Fijian peacekeepers to follow the order of Singha,
Trillanes said the UN is now facing big problem because of the Fijian
peacekeepers held hostage by the Syrian rebels.
”In
military operation, if the outcome is positive, there is no bad decision. The
result here is positive because we saved our soldiers, nobody was hurt and they
fought what they should fight,” Trillanes stressed.
On
the other hand, Trillanes said that for following Singha’s order, “the Fijian
peacekeepers were held hostage. Now that’s the big problem of the UN. You can’t
say it was a result of good decision.”
”At
least now, we know with certainty that our soldiers are safe now and no longer
the problem of the UN,” he added.
Last
Saturday, Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III proposed that appropriate awards
be conferred on the Filipino peacekeepers for their display of bravery.
Pimentel
said the 40 UN Filipino peacekeepers also deserve cash incentives and
on-the-spot promotions.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=681397
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