The Philippine Army appealed on Wednesday to concerned groups to refrain from throwing accusations against the military organization regarding the recent arrest of the 43 New People’s Army (NPA) members in Morong, Rizal.
"The organization also calls on the families of the accused and their supporters to stop vilifying the military through publicity since the arrest is legitimate by virtue of a warrant of arrest," said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos.
Burgos said cases have already been formally filed in court and the criminal charges against the 43 accused constitute sufficient legal grounds for their continued detention.
"The Philippine Army, in all its activities, always upholds the rule of law and trusts the country’s judicial system. It continues to follow the legal processes and is confident that the truth will surface and that justice would be served. Again, the organization maintains that the arrest of the 43 NPA members is legal, having been caught in the act of possession of illegal firearms and explosives. It would be up to them to prove their innocence in court," Burgos stressed.
He said the arrest of the "Morong 43" has greatly crippled surviving fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) and showed the armed terrorist movement’s weakness by voluntarily exposing themselves.
"The Army will not be cowed by black propaganda of the NPA exerting all efforts to discredit the organization. The CPP and the ideology it is propagating is not illegal. However, the methodology that the NPA uses, employing violence to espouse their agenda, is a criminal offense and definitely against the law," Burgos added.- PNA
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