AFP Spox is heartless, ceasefire is for the people
Ka Cleo del Mundo’s response to Gen. Edgar Arevalo’s statement that the AFP won’t recommend a ceasefire (First of Two-part Statement)
Read in: Pilipino
Nothing good comes out of AFP’s spin doctors’ mouth. Like his commander-in-chief who was nowhere to be found when the people are being battered by recent typoons, AFP spokesperson General Edgar Arevalo displays a callous indifference to their plight. Obviously, Arevalo banks on illogic to justify AFP’s rejection of a temporary truce.
Cessation of combat operations in the countryside, albeit temporarily, is a humanitarian duty among hostile forces in times of crises. It is for the victims of the typhoons, poor farmers and their families, not for the NPA.
And if it wouldn’t be too much for Arevalo to ponder, it is also for AFP officers and men and their families.
Besides, the CPP and NPA need not take a cue from the AFP or Duterte to sympathize with the people and unilaterally suspend offensive guerilla operations in our Red bases.
For the record, two combat battalions (59th IB and 85th IB) of the Philippine Army have conducted focused military operations in just 10 adjacent villages in Quezon province since October.
The NPA exercised restraint in consideration to government relief operations coordinated by local civilian authorities in severely affected areas.
However, continuous AFP offensives obliged NPA units in the area to engage in 3 defensive combat maneuvers in October 29, November 12 and 15 resulting in multiple casualties among Duterte’s men.
Christmas and New Year, which coincides with the CPP’s aniversary is an occasion for the revolutionary movement to celebrate the persistent struggle of the oppressed for national democracy.
This is a time for pleasant gatherings, to feast on steaming brewed coffee, rice cakes and sautéed noodles shared with the masses whilst indulging in songs and poems of resistance–not to extort like the tradition of the AFP-PNP top brass entreating their patrons in politics and big business for cash gifts.
And certainly, not a time for the loathing and bellicosity of Duterte’s mercenary police and military that waits no time and tide. Arevalo’s apostasy reeks in AFP’s reran alibis in rejecting a ceasefire.#