IFUGAO Representative Teddy Baguilat urged the government to push for the resumption of peace talks and an immediate halt to the clashes between the military and communist groups.
The law maker made the call after the army overran a rebel camp in a remote village in Asipulo town following a gun battle with alleged rebels February 12.
Reports from the Armed Forces of the Philippines reveal government troops recovered three laptop computers, a power generator set, bullets for AK 47 and M-16 rifles, grenades, supposed explosive devices, and the rebels’ personal belongings from the camp in Namal village.
Baguilat said the on - going clash is already racking up casualties and disrupting lives of peace-loving communities.
“Just days after the breakdown of the peace talks and the lifting of the ceasefire, the military and the NPA have renewed fighting. While casualties on both sides are expected, the greater tragedy is the displacement of peace-loving indigenous peoples from their ancestral homes,” said Baguilat.
Baguilat added hundreds of IPs are now in an evacuation center in Namal, Asipulo where the fight has been raging between the military and the NPA for days.
“They are in dire need of help, such as food, water and blankets because of the cool weather. But more than anything, what they need is to go back home and to live in peace, away from the war that is not of their making and certainly not their fault,” Baguilat added.
The solon urged both sides to cease fire and allow those still trapped in the war zones to at least find their way to the evacuation center, if not leave altogether so they can go back home.
“It is unfair and unjust,” he said, “for the indigenous peoples to become victims of the long-running war between the state and the insurgents.”
Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the scrapping of talks with communist groups that earlier unilaterally lifted the ceasefire.
Baguilat expressed his full support for the Duterte administration’s moves to bring lasting peace and hoped that both the government and the rebel groups would return to the negotiating table, as Filipinos deserve no less. (Roderick Osis)