The Philippine National Police on Thursday expressed support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to end the communist insurgency.
“We support our President’s desire to end this insurgency problem. We will engage them in all their fronts in agriculture, labor, health and even in the academe and in the religious sector,” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde told reporters.
“That’s the very reason we have the national task force. This is a whole-nation approach and not only a whole government approach.”
During the 31st anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program at the Department of Agrarian Reform’s main office in Quezon City on Tuesday night, Duterte warned of “a little trouble” in the coming months and urged the military to end the communist insurgency, saying the government could not afford to pass it on to the next generation of Filipinos.
“So I am telling the military, ‘Can we end it now?’ We cannot afford to pass it on to the next generation. They might not be able to handle it. It has to be now,” Duterte said.
Duterte also hinted at imposing a “very radical change” in the government but did not elaborate.
“Revolution is no longer a vogue. You cannot win a fight for social justice or for a better life in your country if you wage revolution,” Duterte said.
“It won’t work. You can’t even occupy one village, and in the coming days there will be a very radical change in the behavior of government.”
Duterte said the country would never prosper if the communist insurgency, criminality, and corruption were not curbed.
On Tuesday, Albayalde met with top officials of the academe who enlightened them on the issue of academic freedom in connection with some militant student groups and organizations’ stand against the entry of military and police personnel in the campuses.
Albayalde said they only had the best intentions for the students and other members of the academe.