The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday denied
claim by the New People's Army (NPA) that the military never honored the
ceasefire declared by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during his first State of
the Nations Address (SONA).
AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla on Monday said
that despite unprovoked attacks by New People's Army combat units, the AFP
remained faithful to unilateral ceasefire from beginning to end.
President Duterte declared a unilateral ceasefire during his
first SONA on July 25 but subsequently lifted it on July 30 after the NPAs
failed to declare their own version.
Padilla said the military was very supportive of the
ceasefire, adding that planners worked overtime to craft guidelines on how to
disengage combat units in the field shortly after Duterte's announcement.
He added AFP sincerity could not be doubted as this order
was immediately promulgated to various units nationwide.
And yet despite this show of goodwill and sincerity from the
government, rebel forces in Kapalong, Davao Del Norte attacked a returning
militia patrol, killing one and wounding four others last July 27 and in July
28, NPA forces were at in again, attacking another home-bound Army patrol in
Agusan Del Sur, fortunately causing no losses to government troops.
"And yet, despite these attacks, we never did conduct
pursuit operations against them as we are hoping that the (unilateral)
ceasefire will work," Padilla added.
And despite these setbacks, the AFP spokesperson was hopeful
that a more lasting peace would come out from the scheduled Aug. 20 talks with
the NPAs in Oslo , Norway
Padilla was also hoping that the insurgents would not make
any impossible demands which could bogged down the dialogues.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=909375
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.