Manila: President Rodrigo Duterte has given orders to the armed forces to “take full control” of paramilitary groups to prevent endangering the peace process with various rebel groups.
“I am now ordering the (Philippine) Army to take full control of these paramilitary groups, particularly the Bagani Command and another militia,” the President said as he referred to the Magahat-Bagani Force that operates in Surigao del Sur and another armed group in Arakan, North Cotabato.
The President was speaking to members of the regional police headquarters in Camp Vicente Alagar in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental.
“Paramilitary men operating especially with firearms issued by the government would undermine the peace process. We desire to put a stop to because we are really trying our best to come up with a peaceful country,” he added.
In the past, the government had employed paramilitary groups as part of counter-insurgency efforts. During the 1970s, the Civilian Home Defence Force (CHDF) was formed. They were initially used for community protection against communist and Moro rebels, but later on, these groups, provided with arms and training by the government, took a life of their own and had become a menace to peace and order that they had sworn to establish.
During the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino in the mid-1980s, the CHDF was abolished due to numerous reports of abuse by its members. It was replaced by the Civilian Armed Force Geographical Units (Cafgu) and Civilian Volunteers Organisation (CVO).
But the CVO became notorious as these units are directly under the supervision of local leaders like governors and mayors. These groups served as an informal private army of town and provincial chief executives.
In 2009, members of the CVO under the late governor Andal Ampatuan and his son, Andal Jr. were blamed for the country’s worst election-related violence---the massacre of 58 people, including journalists, lawyers, and a number of civilian.
In his speech he disclosed his scheduled meeting with the chairman of the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) chair, Luis Jalandoni in Davao City.
“Jalandoni is waiting for me in Davao,” he said. He stressed that he is pushing for an “inclusive government” and not a coalition government with the leftist groups. He said he could come up with a peace deal with the communists as long as they do not insist on having posts in the country’s police and military organisations.
The government and the NDF are respectively observing their own self-declared ceasefire. Since August 21, there have been no incidents of armed encounters in any part of the country.
On October 6-10, representatives from both the NDF and the Philippine government negotiating panel are scheduled to meet in Oslo, Norway for the second round of parlays to end the 47-year-old insurgency conflict.
Aside from the communists, the Duterte administration is also talking with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a recalcitrant faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) under Nur Misuari.