File photo of Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights.
Malacanang on Friday reiterated its support for the Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights, saying they made the "right decision" to escape from the clutches of Syrian rebels and defy the order of the commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to stand down.
"What we had in the situation on the ground in the Golan Heights was that there was a third party non-state that intervened, meaning the Syrian rebels. And so the rules of engagement changed in the sense that while the peacekeepers are not supposed to take any offensive operation, they were attacked and so they would have to defend themselves," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a briefing aired over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.
"This is a situation that was apparent and was obvious in the situation between the Syrian rebels and Philippine troops. We are very certain that our Philippine troops, our Filipino peacekeepers, made the right decision," he said.
"They (Filipino troops) were running low on ammunition. It was not something imaginable for our Armed Forces, our peacekeepers, to surrender themselves. And so we stand by our Filipino peacekeepers. They did the right decision," Lacierda added.
Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singha, UNDOF head, earlier accused the Filipino troops of being unprofessional.
He said the Filipino peacekeepers "broke the chain of command and UN orders" even as he denied giving the stand down order.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/94795/they-made-the-right-decision--palace-reiterates-support-for-filipino-peacekeepers-in-golan-heights
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