AFP still open to peace talks with rebels

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 20): AFP still open to peace talks with rebels

Despite the all-out war campaign against the rebels, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is still open for the government to renew peace negotiations with the New People's Army (NPA).

However, this does not mean that the military will tolerate NPA attacks and atrocities on civilian and other targets, AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año said in an interview over the weekend.

"We are not against the path to peace but we will not allow the NPAs to conduct atrocities and similar activities that will imperial the lives of ordinary people in the communities," he added in Filipino.

With this, Año said they are exerting pressure on the NPA to force the latter to go back to the negotiating table.

This is in line with the no-military pressure being exerted by other agencies and bodies.

"You need military and non-military pressure so that they will forced to go back to the negotiating table," he added.

On Feb. 4, President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the peace talks after a series of unprovoked rebel attacks against military targets, killing six soldiers and abducting another three people.

In the ongoing campaign against the NPAs, the AFP chief said that they already have 30 encounters with the rebels resulting in the neutralization of 44 insurgents.

This can be broken down into 15 captured, 12 killed and 17 surrendered, Año said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=965552