Sparing ‘ lumad’ from terrorist tag not absolute – DND chief

THE Department of National Defense ( DND) over the weekend said lumad ( indigenous peoples) will not be affected in the government tagging of members of rebel groups as terrorists.

In a statement released on Sat will only apply to leaders, regular groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army ( NPA), the CPP’s armed wing.

The statement came a day after a group of lumad rallied in front of Camp Aguinaldo, the national headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Quezon City.

The group said the tagging of the members of the CPP and the NPA as terrorists will result in massive operations targeting them.

“Only lumad who joined the NPA regular ranks and those who actively support the CPP/ NPA in whatever form will be included [ in the labeling] as terrorists and will be the object of security operations. The rest of the peaceloving lumad need not worry,” Lorenzana said.

The Defense secretary vowed that the indigenous peoples will be protected by the military and police as long as they are not members of the communist rebel groups.

According to non- government organization Save Our Schools Network, 3,000 lumad have Philippine Army and the NPA.

President Rodrigo Duterte last year terminated peace talks between the government and the CPP, the NPA and the National Democratic Front ( NDF) and tagged them as terror groups.

The NDF is an umbrella group that counts the CPP and the NPA as members.