THE Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday, May 12 welcomed the P2-million reward offered by President Rodrigo Duterte to individuals who can kill or provide information that will lead to the neutralization of communist leaders.
PNP Chief Archie Gamboa said they were taking Duterte’s offer as a signal to intensify operations against the New People’s Army (NPA), armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
"The more na 'yung binigay ni Presidente na alok na reward is a signal for the AFP and PNP na paigtingin ang programa sa neutralization ng mga CPP-NPA personalities and dati kasi nag-declare tayo ng ceasefire so defensive kami... Ang aming direktiba ngayon dahil wala naman kaming restriction is still all-out war against CPP-NPA," he said.
"Itong ginagawa nila ngayon, taking advantage pa ito sa emergency situation kahit na 'yung mga pulis or military na involved sa humanitarian activities, pati 'yun inaatake nila then the more we should push through with the neutralization of the CPP-NPA," he added.
For his part, AFP Chief of Staff Felimon Santos Jr. said Duterte’s offer would encourage the public to immediately provide information on the whereabouts of the communist rebels.
"Good news for the AFP. That will be an additional reward for those informants aside on what is already on the AFP reward system,..Our kababayans who have been providing the AFP significant information leading to our recent decisive operations will be twice benefited thereby," he said.
"They will not just be relieved from the lingering pestering presence of the NPA, our kababayans can even cash in on the report that they will give to the AFP," he added.
Duterte made the offer during his meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases about the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic on Monday evening. It was aired on Tuesday morning.
"Kapag nakapatay kayo ng commander, nakaturo kayo (kung) saan natutulog iyong commander, sabihin niyo sa akin. P2 million (ang reward) 'pag top commander,” Duterte said.
To ensure the safety of the informant, he or she will be transferred to other provinces with the assistance of the government.
Earlier, the President condemned NPA rebels for its continuing attacks amid the government’s response efforts to aid Filipino families hardly affected by the crisis. (SunStar Philippines)