President Duterte speaks before the troops of the 5th Infantry 'Star Troopers' Division based in Isabela.
President Rodrigo Duterte appealed on Saturday to the Philippine Army for understanding, as he seeks to end the bloodbath between the government and Communist rebels through peace talks between the two sides in Oslo, Norway.
During a visit to the 5th Infantry Division, known also by the moniker Star Troopers, at Camp Melchor F. de la Cruz in Cauayan, Isabela, Duterte reminded the soldiers that their "natural enemies" happen to be Filipinos, too.
Duterte said that he, as President, was duty-bound to "seek peace for the land" in accordance with the Constitution.
"My job is to look for a way to end the killing of fellow Filipinos," he said.
He pointed out that the government was doing well in its pursuit of peace talks with the Left. "In the fullness of God's time, I pray we'll have that. We'll have peace in the land."
The armed forces must not relax once the peace talks with the Left is concluded. They must continue to train.
But he likewise warned that the government's problem "from the other side" had just begun, in reference to the Muslim insurgency.
"Mindanao is a very sticky issue," Duterte explained.
He said he had talked to Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Murad Ebrahim and vice chairman Ghazali Jaafar, who told him they should revive the peace talks.
Duterte said that he had also been in touch with Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari. The problem, however, was that Misuari was "ambivalent".
Duterte said Misuari had "lost control over the young men of the Moro generation," referring to the Abu Sayyaf.
"Abu Sayyaf no longer hungers for independence in Mindanao. They are no longer hungry for autonomy. They are hungry for a fight to establish a caliphate, a kingdom, in Southeast Asia," the President said.
There was, he stressed, no negotiating with the Abu Sayyaf, not even when promised them schools and other forms of development initiatives, he added.
To them, Duterte said, "it's the caliphate or nothing."
He told the soldiers to "reorient or reinvent" themselves, given that the Abu Sayyaf was following the trend of "urban terrorism".
While the New People's Army was always on the move, with the soldiers doing the chasing, the Abu Sayyaf was static. "Pabilisan na lang ng tenga at mata (Your eyes and ears have to be quick)," Duterte said.
From being foot soldiers in uniform, they would have to become intelligence operatives, the President advised. He added that the Abu Sayyaf were masters of disguise. One "farmer" could just blow up a car to smithereens.
"Ang kalaban ninyo dito, sabog (You're up against explosives here)," Duterte warned.
He urged them to study ways of profiling possible bombers and terrorists, even as he said he had given the go signal for Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana "to procure whatever is necessary" for the soldiers – including protective gear and weapons.
During his speech, Duterte presented the third and final list of alleged drug personalities, including mayors, vice-mayors, assemblymen, municipal councilors, and police officers.
However, he only named two: Naguilian, La Union Mayor Reynaldo Flores, a so-called "high-value target", and Maasin, Leyte Barangay Captain Boni Sultan.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/132530/no-negotiation--duterte-peps-army-vs-abu-sayyaf
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