(Eagle News) – Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government is ready to go after and hunt down the New People’s Army rebels following President Duterte’s directive to scrap peace talks with communist leaders.
Lorenzana clarified that there was no “all-out war” but normal military operations to be conducted against the NPA, the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), especially after their action of killing unarmed soldiers on February 1, the day the NPA declared they were terminating the August 28 ceasefire with the government.
“The all-out war is an overused term. Sa military, we are just going after the armed component of the NPA. So normal military operations. No all out war,” he said in a press briefing in Malacanang.
When again asked to clarify, he said it was an “all-out war” against the armed component of the communists, which is the NPA.
“Ang sinasabi nilang all-out war is to — target-in na namin ‘yung mga armed component. Hindi naman namin tatargetin ‘yung mga peaceful-loving supporters diyan na nagfa-farming,” he said.
“ We will not… Hindi naman sila gagalawin. It’s only the armed component that we are going after because they are the ones who can go around and intimidate people, ‘yung may armas,” he added.
The NPA’s lifting of the ceasefire was supposedly still to take effect on February 10, but the rebel group in an earlier statement had already conducted as many as 20 operations against government troops, including the killing of soldiers and government troops.
Three of those killed had been riddled with bullets.
This prompted President Duterte to scrap the peace talks with the Left, saying he was being fooled by the other side.
The Department of National Defense also agreed with the President who considered the NPA as a terrorist organization.
DND chief Lorenzana said the extortion and kidnapping activities being done by the NPA were similar to what the Abu Sayyaf was doing.
“Ano bang pagkakaiba nila sa Abu Sayyaf? The Abu Sayyaf kidnap people and then they get money. The NPA will threaten those businessmen and also get money. There’s no difference at all. They are there to terrorize people, to giving them money, that’s extortion. So we will hunt them down and maybe stop them from doing what they are doing,” he added.
Earlier, the U.S. State Department said it still considered even the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
