All Philippine Army (PA) units will be in defensive mode in case some rogue rebel elements decide to violate the ceasefire declared by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the Communist Party of the
This is to prevent unnecessary casualties in Army ranks, PA
spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao said as military personnel have been often
targeted by rebel forces during the conduct of past ceasefires or truces.
"Right now, we are on defensive mode, we do not operate
but we are also on alert, for instance, should an improvised explosive device
explode, it will be treated as a law enforcement operation as (it's manufacture
and usage) is a violation of our laws," he said in Filipino.
Hao said their defensive measures will ensure that no troops
will be wounded or killed during unprovoked attacks.
"The Declaration of Restoration of Ceasefire by the
President and Commander-in-Chief (CinC) Rodrigo Duterte that takes effect
midnight of 20 August 2016, and his clear instructions for the AFP to restore
its erstwhile operational guidelines will be communicated forthwith to all AFP
units on the ground by all means possible as we speak," AFP public affairs
office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said earlier.
Last Friday, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its
New People’s Army (NPA) declared a seven-day unilateral ceasefire hours after
the release of its high-ranking leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who were
named consultants to peace talks scheduled Aug. 22 to 26 in Oslo, Norway.
The rebel ceasefire will take effect 12:01 a.m. of Aug. 21
until 11:59 p.m. of Aug. 27.
Duterte, on his first State-of-the-Nation Address last July
25, declared a unilateral ceasefire against the rebels as a sign of goodwill.
But he was forced to lift it five days later after
unprovoked NPA attacks against militiamen in Compostela Valley killed one and
wounded four others last July 27, and failure of the rebels to declare their
own version of the government ceasefire.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=915968
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