Lorenzana: NPA is the target of memo order

From the Malaya Business Insight (Nov 27): Lorenzana: NPA is the target of memo order

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday said there is no need to expand the coverage of Memorandum Order 32 that calls for the deployment of additional troops to the Bicol region and the provinces of Samar, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental to suppress lawless violence.

He allayed fears the additional deployment will lead to the declaration of martial law nationwide and said the real target of MO 32 is the New People’s Army, which he called a terrorist group.

He said the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has stepped up its atrocities, including burning of construction equipment, in the Samar and Negros provinces and in the Bicol region.

“Did you see any mention of martial law in the EO? None. It (MO 32) is merely meant to enhance our efforts to maintain peace and order, especially in the countryside,” he said adding President Duterte has issued statements that he is not going to declare martial law nationwide.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in May last year after the Maute terror group attacked and occupied several barangays in Marawi City.

Lorenzana said the additional troop deployment will be in areas where the NPA has “strong” presence. He said the NPA, which collects “permit to campaign fees,” is a threat to the residents and to the May 2019 mid-term elections.

He said there have been reports that the NPA intervened in past elections in the Samar and Negros provinces and in the Bicol region, by endorsing certain candidates and through the collection of campaign fees.

“It means that elections were not fair, there’s no level playing field in the last elections. This (MO 32) is a way to ensure that the campaign period is going to be peaceful and it’s going to be fair,” he said.

Lorenzana also sought to downplay remarks made by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, that President Duterte, the military’s commander in chief, does not need a memorandum to order the deployment of troops anywhere in the country.

“It already depends on how we see this. To me, anything that will improve our operations to make the places or areas peaceful and stable, we welcome those,” Lorenzana said.

Col. Noel Detoyato, chief of the AFP public affairs office, said the issuance of MO 32 was triggered by a “series of atrocities” perpetrated by the NPA. He said the order is aimed at preventing the NPA from launching more attacks.

“We have to be ahead of them,” he said, noting the NPA carry out attacks in areas where military forces are thin.

Continued NPA attacks were among the main reasons President Duterte canceled formal peace negotiations with the communists this year.

Detoyato implied only the communists are opposing MO 32.

“The martial law rumor-mongers are the ones going to be affected by this,” he said. “They are not going to be able to freely move and we will be able to check their activities. You know, the lawless elements are the only ones who are afraid of the presence of our law enforcers.”

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, concurrent presidential spokesman, said the deployment of more troops is part of government’s efforts to strengthen the campaign against communist insurgency.

He said there are more incidents of terrorism and other criminal activities in the areas under MO 32.

“There were series of acts committed against civilians, against soldiers and policemen in those areas and therefore there is a need to deploy troops, as well as PNP forces in that area to secure the people, for its own safety and peace of the area,” he said.

He said Malacañang had to put the order in writing to formalize the directives and be transparent about the instructions, including the places that need to be secured.

He said the opposition should not be concerned about the deployment of more troops but should in fact be happy, “because you will be securing the area during election time.”

He also said the move is not a prelude to expanding martial law coverage.

Opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the deployment of additional troops to communist-infested areas will mean more police abuses.

Pangilinan said what government should do is to first cleanse the PNP of misfits amid recent reports that some of them were involved in criminal acts such as rape, murder, and robbery extortion.

“Lalo lang dadami ang pang-aabuso ng PNP at madadawit pati AFP sa ganitong paraan... Sa hanay ng PNP na nanggagaling ang lawlessness (There will be an increase in abuses by the PNP, and the AFP will somehow get dragged into the allegations of abuses. Lawlessness comes from the ranks of the PNP),” he said.

He did not give figures backing his claim.

Based on PNP records, 43 policemen accused of rape have been charged with administrative cases from 2015 to the first week of November 2018. The most recent of the alleged rape cases involved as victims an arrested illegal gambling player and a 15-year-old daughter of an arrested drug pusher.

The Commission on Human Rights, through its spokeswoman Jacqueline Ann de Guia, said effective law enforcement, and not the deployment of more troops, is the answer to lawless violence.

https://malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/lorenzana-npa-target-memo-order