AFP ready to re-arrest NDF consultants if ordered

September 8, 2017

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said they have the capability to arrest the National Democratic Front (NDF) consultants if they are ordered to do so.

“Of course we are capable of arresting them and we will arrest them when time comes when we are so ordered to do,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Chief, told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo Friday.

After more than a month since the cancellation of the peace talks with the communist group, Arevalo said the military has not received directives to re-arrest the NDF consultants who were given temporary liberty to join the negotiations.

“We have not yet received a particular directive for us to arrest them but definitely as much as we are capable of doing we are going to monitor their location,” he said.

“It is the court that issued their temporary liberty so it’s also the court who would say if there is a need to issue the arrest warrant,” he added.

Despite the absence of warrant of arrest, Arevalo assures that the military are monitoring the movements of these NDF consultants.

“What I can say is that within our capability we monitor. We will look for their location so when the time comes when we have to re-arrest them then we'd be able to do so,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS