AFP on track for the 2010 deadline on eradicating the insurgencies

Miami
June 26, 2008
Story 3: AFP on track for the 2010 deadline on eradicating the insurgencies

The Armed Forces of the Philippines claim that they are on track on the 2010 deadline given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to eradicate the insurgencies in the country.

The CPP-NPA-NDF still considers to be the major national threat in the country because “This group has threat to overthrow this government and for them to make their own,” AFP Chief of Staff Alexander Yano said in the media forum with the members of Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP). Yano added that the NPA still have 5,600 active members.

AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Maj. Gen. Romeo Lustestica confirm that they are on track on their 2010 deadline to defeat the insurgency groups because they have brought them down to an inconsequential level, “We are confident that we will be able to get our target. When we say we are defeating insurgency, it means that we have brought them down to an inconsequential level, that means we have destroyed their forces at least 70 percent so that is what we mean when we say that we are able to defeat insurgency.”

Though Yano had admitted that they cannot reduce it into zero. “There will always be recalcitrance in any society just like a small family,” Yano said.

He added what he mean by inconsequential level is that the group can no longer have the capability to affect governance and the police can addressed the situation because it will be only considered as plain law enforcement.

On the Abu Sayyaf members, Yano believed that they are already reduced to 360 members and they look at them as a loose organization with no leader to follow and to look into. “Some of them may have been codnucting their own operations and now has degenerated into a money making group or activity devoid of any semblance of ideology or cause, they have degenerated into plain bandits and i feel that the leadership vacuum that is being experience now would be one of the main reasons why they have to generate both the leadership vacuum and fund income or fund shortages could have forced them to engage in this money making schemes,” Yano explained.

He also said operations is ongoing on the area where the news team of ABS-CBN was kidnapped.