The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday stated it has not monitored any safety threats to this point within the nation this Christmas season.
“We have not seen any threat yet so far,” navy spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar stated in an interview on CNN Philippines.
According to Aguilar, the potential of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has already been weakened, making the insurgent group incapable of executing assaults.
He added that the AFP will assist the Philippine National Police (PNP) in conducting safety operations in the course of the vacation season.
“Now in the conduct of security operations, what we will do is to provide our support to the PNP because they are the lead effort when it comes to security operations and preparations during [the] Yuletide season,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Aguilar stated there are 154 barangays which are nonetheless affected by communist armed battle.
Aguilar stated the AFP is engaged on centered navy operations to clear the remaining affected areas.
“We are also intensifying our conduct of community support programs in those areas so we can bring in the right intervention that will address the root cause of the conflict,” he added.
On Tuesday, Aguilar stated the AFP dominated out declaring a ceasefire with the CPP–New People’s Army (NPA) for the Christmas season.
“Ceasefire is ruled out because of leadership vacuum within the CPP after the neutralization of many of its top leaders,” Medel earlier instructed GMA News Online in a message.
“With solely 5 energetic guerilla fronts, the insurgents’ functionality to mount terrorism has been considerably degraded,” he added. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
