We take exception to Bobby Tuazon’s allegations that it is the defense establishment that is being “intractable” in the ongoing peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (“Military intransigence in the peace talks,” Opinion, 4/21/17).
The Department of National Defense, under the leadership of Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, has been firm in its commitment to support the peace initiatives of the government and abide by the peace process. For decades, we have kept constant vigil to safeguard our communities and ensure that our people can live their lives freely without fear or threat of violence. Sadly, we have lost countless good men and women in the process. If there is one government agency that desires peace the most, it is the DND.
To set the record straight, there was no cessation of military operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) since the commander in chief never gave an order for us to that effect. In addition, the release of all hostages was a condition set by President Duterte for the peace talks to move forward.
It will be recalled that it was the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the NPA, that have been intransigent in the peace talks. They were the ones who first withdrew their unilateral ceasefire, committing clear violations even when it was in place. Adding to this, the NPA has continued to resort to extortion, blackmail, destruction of property, kidnapping and collusion with unscrupulous individuals even with the ongoing peace talks—acts that have necessitated a response from government security forces.
All of these prompted President Duterte to lift the government’s own unilateral ceasefire last February.
Certainly, these facts are well known to our people since there is a constant stream of new stories regarding the NPA and its illegal and criminal activities reported by the media.
We are confident that the Filipino people can best judge who are ostensibly intractable, hypocritical and abusive in contrast to who are just doing their constitutionally mandated mission of securing the safety of our citizens and the sovereignty of this only land we call home.
Lastly, we wish to make it clear that the defense establishment has not “contradicted the President’s policy stance to end US war exercises in the country” as Tuazon incorrectly stated. In November 2016, President Duterte approved the holding of Balikatan exercises that include counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), and civic actions. Complying with the President who is also the commander in chief, the DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines have ensured that our joint exercises with foreign military forces will be more beneficial to our troops and communities. In light of the paradigm shift in the global and regional security environment, we have aligned our defense operations accordingly to capacitate our soldiers to combat terrorism and performing HADR missions.
ARSENIO R. ANDOLONG, chief, Public Affairs Service and spokesperson, Department of National Defense