AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Catapang. INQUIRER.net file photo
MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday joined the international community in celebrating the month of International Humanitarian Law.
Members of the AFP in the General Headquarters and camps around the country simultaneously pledged their support towards the promotion of International Humanitarian Law.
“We should execute our duties and responsibilities to protect our citizens caught in the midst of armed conflicts in the country, and guarantee total respect for their human rights as prescribed by IHL,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.
AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang said that the attainment of peace should be rooted to the observance of humanitarian issues.
“Peace can only be truly just and lasting if it is based on respect for life, human rights, and dignity,” Catapang said.
He added that the AFP operates within the imperative to protect the populace “especially those who are not parties to the conflict.”
With the theme “Empowering the Vulnerable in times of Armed Conflict,” Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, AFP Public Affairs Office Chief, said partner organizations Department of National Defense, Philippine Red Cross, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process and Commission on Human Rights would join the observance of IHL Month.
“The recitation of the AFP soldier’s pledge of commitment reaffirms the obligation and adherence of the AFP to International Humanitarian Law,” Zagala said.
Simultaneous to the event at Camp Aguinaldo, soldiers from the Eastern Mindanao Command and 3rd Infantry Division also pledged their loyalties to humanitarian law.
Major General Aurelio Baladad directed all troops under the 3ID to observe humanitarian conduct in all their military operations.
“As protectors of the people and the state, our soldiers are reminded to apply only the amount and kind of force necessary to defeat the lawless armed elements,” Baladad said.
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