Military studying how to implement Duterte’s order

November 23, 2018

The Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP) said it will study  Malacanang’s Memorandum Order No. 32, ordering more military and police to be sent to Visayas and Bicol regions to find out how this can be implemented.

"We are going to support this move of our current political leaderships, especially it was issued by the Malacanang, after all our duty to protect the people and the state is our constitutional mandate,” said Brig. General Edgard Arevalo, the AFP spokesman.

Arevalo said the AFP, through the Department of National Defense (DND),  has not received an official copy of the MO No. 32.

“If you are going to ask how many battalions or units that would be going there, we cannot give you the definite answer for now because these are the matters that we still have to get from the general headquarters together with the commands that will be affected by this particular issuance (MO No. 32),” Arevalo said.

Military records showed that communist insurgents appeared to have re-establish their foothold in Bicol, Samar province and in Negros Island.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) directed  its personnel in the Bicol region and islands of Samar and Negros to step up operations against lawless elements.

Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr., the PNP spokesman, said: “We will comply with the memorandum order. In fact, our Directorate for Operations has already crafted a memorandum directive to the concerned regions.”

“The PNP will realign deployment of forces according to intelligence assessment and threat evaluation with the underlying objective to thwart any attempt by domestic threat groups to commit acts of violence,” he said. DMS