DAVAO CITY—The Army’s 10th Infantry “Agila” Division has urged the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to make good their promise to release two soldiers that communist guerrillas seized in Sultan Kudarat province in February.
“We denounce the CPP-NPA for its double-faced lie in not releasing the two soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion they abducted at the height of the unilateral cease-fire on February 2,” said Capt. Rhyan Batchar, chief information officer of 10th ID.
The soldiers held by the communist rebels are Sgt. Solaiman Calucop and Pfc. Samuel Garay.
Batchar said there is no more hindrance to the release of the soldiers.
In a statement issued on April 7 in Noordwijkaan Zee, the Netherlands, the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the CPP, accused the Armed Forces of refusing to suspend military operations to pave the way for the release of abducted soldiers in Mindanao, including Calucop and Garay.
The government and NDF peace panels agreed the day before to undertake measures for the safe and immediate release of abducted soldiers in Mindanao.
The communist rebels said the soldiers abducted in Sultan Kudarat will be released on Easter Sunday, while the soldiers snatched in Bukidnon and Caraga region will be freed after Easter Sunday.
But contrary to the claim of the NDF, Bachar said the 10th ID and the 39th IB suspended their military operations against the NPA rebels responsible for the abduction of Calucop and Garay.
“We demand that the NPA immediately release our soldiers without any condition, as this is the only way to rectify the treacherous and insincere act of abducting our soldiers while the unilateral cease-fires were still in effect,” Batchar said.
In an interview last week, the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Eduardo Año, said there was no need for a suspension of military operations (Somo), noting that the NPA already released two abducted government troops in Davao Oriental in March even if there was no Somo in the area.