President Benigno Aquino III has already received the full report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the standoff in Golan Heights involving 75 Filipino peacekeepers and about a hundred Syrian rebels two weeks ago.
The AFP submitted the full report to the President Wednesday last week, Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said.
The decision of the Filipino peacekeepers to escape when they’ve had a chance to do so after seven hours of fighting was questioned by Indian Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singha, commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Golan Heights.
Singha said it was an act of cowardice that endangered the lives of the Fijian troops who were also being held hostage by the rebels and that the Filipino peacekeepers “broke the chain of command and UN orders.”
The AFP, on the other hand, took exception to Singha’s order for the Filipino troops to stand down and surrender their arms. Philippine military authorities said they will bring the issue before the UN.
Earlier, Malacañang said it will avail of the accountability process under the UN over the stand down order, which Singha has denied issuing.
Palace said it is standing by the actions taken by the Filipino peacekeepers.
“We are very certain that our Philippine troops, our Filipino peacekeepers, made the right decision,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
The controversy following the standoff has prompted top Filipino peacekeeper Col. Ezra James Enriquez, the third ranking officer in UNDOF, to resign.
Even before the standoff happened, the government already announced its decision to withdraw the troops in Golan Heights as well as in Liberia where there is threat of Ebola virus contamination.
The Philippines has been sending peacekeeping contingents to the Golan Heights since 2009 and to Liberia since 2003.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/09/08/golan-to-guide-ph-on-deployments/
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