DAVAO CITY – Amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s warning to lift the unilateral ceasefire he had declared should communist rebels failed to reciprocate it by 5 p.m. Saturday, there was little indication the New People’s Army was declaring one.
READ: Duterte gives CPP-NPA ultimatum to reciprocate ceasefire
Instead, a rebel spokesperson said the unilateral ceasefire that Mr. Duterte has declared was not being enforced in Mindanao.
Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesman of the New People’s Army-Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command, said that “there is no conspicuous and veritable unilateral ceasefire exercised by (the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police) and paramilitary troops in Southern Mindanao” after Duterte had declared a truce.
“The NPA and the people’s militia are ready to defend itself from enemy troops who are actively present in almost all villages in Southern Mindanao. These are not troops implementing innocuous ‘civil-military operations’ but are implementing combat operations, surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence, and psychological warfare in civilian communities,” Sanchez said.
“These are troops who use communities as garrisons, conduct counter-revolutionary operations, harass and threaten civilians and ensure that their protected illegal activities such as drug trade and logging and mining pay-offs continue unhindered,” he added.
Sanchez said in Magpet, North Cotabato for example, soldiers continued their military operations.
“On July 27, platoons of the 84th IB were deployed in far-flung communities of Toril, Davao City. In Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, troops of the 2nd Scout Rangers Battalion conducted combat operations on July 29,” Sanchez said.
He claimed that one of the alleged proofs of continuing operations is the recent firefight in Kapalong, Davao del Norte that resulted in the death of a militiaman and the wounding of four others.
Sanchez said “anti-peace process” military officials were spinning lies to derail the negotiations.
“Worse still, the fabricated lies they spin to their commander-in-chief and the media to smokescreen their palpable violation demonstrate their outright disdain for the peace process,” Sanchez said.
He said it will be difficult for the NPA to reciprocate a ceasefire when there are military officials who do not wish to follow Duterte’s order.
READ: Joma Sison asks Duterte: Don’t rush us into ceasefire
“While the NPA-SMROC is ready, willing and able to reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire in accordance to the parameters, guidelines and rules to be set by the national leadership of the NPA, CPP, and NDFP, it cannot be harangued to reciprocate a unilateral ceasefire order that is overtly mocked by the AFP hierarchy and its ground troops and paramilitary forces,” Sanchez said.
“The NPA-SMROC urges the current GPH Commander-In-Chief to subject its own troops to a scrutiny of its own operations, deployment, and conduct nationwide to enable the aforesaid unilateral ceasefire order to become effective. Otherwise, it cannot burden the NPA to reciprocate what is turning out to be a spurious unilateral ceasefire,” he added. JE
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