THE new commander of Philippine Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said they are ready to embark on a “peaceful war against people on the streets who are radicalized because of legitimate issues.”
Brigadier General Franco Nemesio Gacal said 80 to 90 percent of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) are non-combatants and are actually seen in the streets participating in rallies.
Gacal said he plans to address this problem through “non-kinetic efforts” and not through violence.
“Legal actions dapat, yung mga tao na nakikita natin sa kalsada (those people we see on the streets), these are members ng (of) shadow government, and they are undermining our government, sila yung andun sa mga probinsya, sa mga barangays,” Gacal said in an interview.
“Kung may kaso, then we will have to file case against them in such a manner na hindi maging violent, peaceful war instead of violence. Mag-usap tayo, so that all legitimate grievances will be addressed,” he said.
Gacal cited President Duterte's Executive Order Number 70 which directs the institutionalizing the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace, as well as the creation of a national task force to end the armed conflict and the adoption of a national peace framework.
He said the military will be open to dialogues and hear the issues raised by concerned groups.
“Kung kailangan mo ng kalsada dyan, lagyan mo ng kalsada, facilitate movement of supplies or tao and everything. Lagyan mo ng school to educate, give livelihood para may mga income yung mga tao, so these are the things we can implement para ating mga kababayan hindi na mag-rebelde,” he said.
During his time as brigade commander of the 402nd Brigade in Surigao and Agusan del Norte, there were a total of 139 NPA surrenderers, 142 militia ng bayan surenderers, and 3,150 NPA supporters who also surrendered.