'Colorful language'

Duterte's order to get rid of NPA

MANILA - Malacañang on Monday dismissed as "colorful language" the latest pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte to get rid of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), once the armed conflict in Marawi City ends.

Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevara said Duterte was merely emphasizing the need to deal with the long-standing insurgency problem when he made an order to wipe out the NPA as soon as Marawi City is freed from Maute terror group.

"As to the statement of the President to wipe out the NPA, I guess that's just a colorful language. [His statement is] to mean actually, 'Let’s go and deal with this long-standing problem [of rebellion].' This has been going on for a long, long time and it's just a matter of priorities," Guevarra told a press conference.

"We have the Marawi problem so we deal with that first. We focus our attention on that. Then after that, the government will just continue with what it has been doing before. So I guess, that's what really the President meant," he added.

Guevarra's statement came after Philippine Na-

tional Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said the Commander-inChief issued a directive to "get ready" in fighting the NPA, the government's the next target after the Maute rebels. (For full story visit www.sunstar. com.ph/davao/)