AFP finds it ironic that rebels are talking about peace, yet planning to recruit more fighters

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 31): AFP finds it ironic that rebels are talking about peace, yet planning to recruit more fighters

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that it finds it very ironic that the New People's Army (NPA) are talking about peace negotiations and yet are planning to recruit more fighters to boost their ranks.

The National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Government Republic Philippines negotiating panel are scheduled to start around round of negotiations in The Netherlands by April.

"It is very ironic that they are planning peace negotiations with the government and yet they are announcing that they are planning to boost the number of their armed components by recruiting more fighters," said AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.

This could complicate the peace process as more fighters in the field could trigger more clashes with government troops.

Padilla said this pronouncement by NPA smacks of the apparent disconnect between their units in the ground and political leadership.

And despite this lack of coordination, the AFP spokesperson said they are willing to go the extra mile so that President Rodrigo Duterte's vision of a just and a lasting peace will be realized.

"But let us remember that each process of attaining that long, just and lasting peace is a slow process that demands a lot of meticulous steps, so we are very supportive of that, we are willing to go the extra mile and we're willing to do our part to make that successful," he added.

Last February, the government was forced to cancel the peace talks and the ceasefire after the NPAs conducted a series of unprovoked attacks against military units nationwide, killing six troopers and abducting three others, aside from destroying millions of pesos worth of property.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=976639