AFP vows to exhaust ‘lethal and non-lethal’ means vs. Reds

FEWER BUT STILL FIGHTING Members of the communist New People’s Army. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday vowed to exhaust all means to end communist insurgency, following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to finish the decades-long insurgency problem.

“We will exhaust all means available — lethal and non-lethal to hit the enemy and hit them hard,” AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.

“We will employ the different lines of efforts with other agencies of government address or help alleviate the identified social issues that the New People’s Army capitalizes,” he added.

The President early this week told the military to put an end to insurgency: “We can’t afford to pass it in the next generations. It has to be now.”

He warned the public to expect “a little trouble”as he ordered the military to go after the NPA.

Arevalo said that one of their concerns is to stop the reported recruitment of NPA in schools through front organizations, IP communities, and other areas in the country.

He also claimed that the number of NPA fighters continue to decline, either through armed encounters, surrenders or arrests.

He cited the arrest of top communist leader Esterlita Suaybaguio Espinosa of the Central Committee and Secretary of the Metro Manila Regional Party Committee recently as one of their gains.

In 2018, Duterte signed an executive order to create a national task force to “end local communist armed conflict,” following the collapse of peace talks between the government and communist rebels.