‘Duterte death squad’ kept alive
Lorenzana pointed out that members of ‘Duterte death squad’ be limited only to soldiers, preferably members of Armed Forces of the Philippines intelligence community
MANILA: A senior Malacanang Palace oficial conirmed his continued support for the controversial move of President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte to form a “death squad” to go after members of an “assassination unit” of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
But Defense Secretary Delin Lorenzana pointed out that members of the “Duterte death squad” be limited only to soldiers, preferably members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines intelligence community.
“I want soldiers to be our anti-sparu unit members and this should be supervised by oficers,” Lorenzana told CNN in an interview, referring to the NPA hit squad which carries the more popular spelling of “Sparrow.”
On Tuesday, Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo, the military spokesman, reiteterated Lorenzana’s support but added they preferred to call it “Team Counter-npa Liquidation Squad” instead of “Duterte death squad.”
But in the same interview, Lorenzana disputed the claim made earlier by Director General Oscar Albayalde, the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), that the Sparrow unit was no longer in existence.
“We still call them Sparu because that’s what they have been doing (sparrow-like operations). How come there are still so many soldiers dying, getting killed (by the NPA) using the same modus operandi as the Sparu?” he asked.
The NPA hit squad has gained notoriety through a spate of killings of “abusive” provincial and local oficials like governors and mayors as well as soldiers and policemen especially those assigned to remote areas in the Philippines.
However, he reiterated there should be a thorough vetting of suspected NPA members and that a military oficial should give the go-signal for the operation against the veriied target to help ensure accountability and responsibility.
In the past three years, Lorenzana cited PNP records showing there were 136 NPA “hits” on policemen and soldiers as he pointed out: “We cannot just stand by and watch our soldiers and policemen killed everyday by the NPA.”
The NPA is the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines that has been waging a Maoist-style insurgency against the government for 50 years, considered the longest in Asia and the Paciic.
Earlier, President Duterte announced the formal suspension of peace talks with the Maoists through their political arm the National Democratic Front in Oslo, Norway which has been brokering the negotiations.
Duterte denounced the Maoists for their unabated attacks on business establishments especially mining and bus irms as well as remote police and military outposts.
In particular, Duterte slammed the Maoists for engaging in massive extortion activities by victimizing business irms under the guise of demanding from them payment for “revolutionary taxes.”
JOURNALIST
The journalist who leads a news site that has battled Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte turned herself in on Monday to face what she termed a “manufactured” tax fraud case that carries the threat of a decade behind bars.
A day after Rappler CEO Maria Ressa lew home to the Philippines under the threat of an arrest warrant, she surrendered at a Manila court and was allowed to remain free after paying a cash bail.
Rappler has been hit by a string of government efforts to shut it down since the site took a critical tone on Duterte, in particular his internationally condemned drug war that has killed thousands.