Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. has ordered an investigation on the abduction of two soldiers and 12 militiamen by an estimated 50 New People’s Army rebels during the daring raid of a patrol base in Sibagat, Agusan del Sur Wednesday.
A Board of Inquiry has been formed to fasttrack the probe of the raid.
Madrigal said part of the probe is to determine how the NPA managed to conduct the raid despite military units in the country being placed on heightened alert status.
Madrigal had earlier said the Philippine Army, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, has stepped up its security to repel NPA attacks on government installations.
Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison ordered the NPA to step up its tactical offensives against the government.
The government has rejected the proposal to reciprocate the annual declaration of truce of the NPA. The CPP will mark its founding anniversary on Dec. 26.
“We have informed our units to increase their awareness and to be pro-active. We will be conducting investigation but up to this time we still have raw information,” Madrigal said.
Madrigal said that the raid only proves that the CPP-NPA could not be trusted even though they declared a unilateral ceasefire.
“Pursuit operations are ongoing even as a Board of Inquiry was commissioned to ascertain the facts leading to the raid and abduction to determine who has was remiss of his duty,” Armed Forces Public Affairs chief Col. Noel Detoyato said.
Detoyato said the PA together with the PNP will file appropriate charges as soon as details and facts are established by the BoI. (Francis Wakefield)