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AFP ready to carry out Duterte's order on ceasefire lifting
By Priam F. Nepomuceno

MANILA, July 30 (PNA) --- With President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Saturday ordering the lifting of the unilateral ceasefire against the CPP-NPA-NDF, the AFP said it remains duty bound to comply with any orders issued by the Chief Executive regarding this development.

"The AFP will abide by the ensuing orders of the Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte following this development," AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

Duterte declared the unilateral ceasefire against the rebels during his first State-of-the-Nation Address last July 25 in line with achieving the government’s goal of final and lasting peace.

But the Chief Executive ordered the lifting of the unilateral ceasefire that he ordered after the 5 p.m. Saturday ultimatum he gave lapsed without reciprocation from the rebels.

“Correspondingly, I am ordering the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to also withdraw the operational guidelines they issued in pursuance to that ceasefire declaration,” Duterte stressed.

Prior the deadline, the President demanded a concrete explanation from the rebels regarding its July 27 attack against militia units in Kapalong, Davao Del Norte which killed one and wounded four others.

"Opportunity missed! This could have been what the Filipino nation had been waiting for -- the silencing of the guns that could have hastened development especially in the countryside," Arevalo stressed.

As this develops, AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the military was now issuing appropriate orders to all its units nationwide regarding the lifting of the unilateral ceasefire.

"All our forces remain on high alert and will resume to discharge their normal functions and constitutional mandated tasks," he added.

Padilla also said the rebels missed a golden opportunity to manifest their commitment to the attainment of peace. (PNA)

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“We trust, however, that this will not affect preparations for formal resumption of peace negotiations scheduled for August 20-27 in Oslo, Norway, nor will it preclude the GRP President from reissuing such a declaration simultaneously with a similar unilateral declaration by the CPP and NPA on August 20,” the statement read.

The CPP explained why it took days for them to reciprocate Duterte’s ceasefire offer.

“The CPP took the more prudent path of moving slowly in a deliberate effort to observe the situation at the ground even as it ordered the NPA to stay on active defense. The CPP, however, will not allow itself to be browbeaten to order the NPA to go on a ceasefire while operating troops of the AFP showed no plans of letting up in their search-and-destroy operations and frenzied offensives that terrorize civilian communities,” it said.

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“Despite his anticrime bravado, it would seem [Mr. Duterte] has shown the drug lords and protectors of criminal syndicates more flexibility and accommodation,” the CPP said.
 
On Saturday night, the President recalled his ceasefire order after a 5 p.m. deadline he had set passed without a response from communist insurgents.
 
Mr. Duterte demanded an explanation from communist leaders following the ambush staged by NPA rebels in Davao del Norte province on Wednesday. A government militiaman was killed while four others were wounded in the attack.

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Prudence

The CPP asked the President “to exercise a little more prudence and display more measured temperament as a way of appreciating the situation from a broader historical perspective.”

By doing this, it said Mr. Duterte would “avoid such impulsive acts as imposing ultimatums by the hour on a conflict that has spanned nearly 50 years.”

It said the military and the police continued to attack and stage combat operations against NPA rebels in different parts of the country even while the ceasefire was in effect.

“The CPP will not allow itself to be browbeaten to order the NPA to go on a ceasefire while operating troops of the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] showed no plans on letting up in their search-and-destroy operations and frenzied offensives that terrorize civilian communities,” it said. With a report from Delfin T. Mallari Jr. /JE/rga/ac

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

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