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| New People’s Army (NPA) rebels |
By Jaime Laude
MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday assured the communists that they are not included in the target list of the martial law implementation in Mindanao.
Lorenzana, as the designated martial law administrator, said the enforcement of military rule in Mindanao will not specifically target the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
“We would like to make it clear that in the implementation of martial law in Mindanao, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not specifically target the New People’s Army as alleged by the National Democratic Front (NDF) chief consultant Jose Ma. Sison,” Lorenzana said.
He said the AFP will fully comply with the directives of the President that martial law was declared to address radical Islamic terrorism and narco-terrorism in Mindanao.
He said the military would conduct all its operations in accordance with the rule of law and respect for human rights.
Sison earlier slammed the declaration of martial law, saying that NPA rebels are key targets of the military operations in Mindanao.
Read the full story at PhilStar