The Armed Forces of the Philippines, set to launch a new anti-insurgency campaign to replace the controversial “Oplan Bantay Laya", assured Filipinos on Tuesday that the new campaign will use less fighting and more peaceful tactics to “win the peace." AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said that the military is almost done crafting its new campaign plan, which will be launched next month and implemented next year. The new campaign involves “winning the peace, meaning to say getting people on our side and getting those who advocate armed struggle (to) realize the futility of their efforts inasmuch as (the issues that) they are fighting for are all being addressed," he told reporters on Tuesday. Mabanta said the military is confident that it will defeat insurgency with this new strategy, which he also said had “involved all stakeholders" in its drafting. “This is not a military campaign plan. It’s a campaign plan of all stakeholders who want peace," he said. Details of the new plan, however, were not made available to the media. In September, the Armed Forces had solicited civilian participation in the crafting of the new plan. (See: AFP seeks inputs from civil society for new anti-insurgency campaign) A month earlier, it had decided to extend Oplan Bantay Laya for six months, after the campaign had expired together with the end of the Arroyo administration in June. (See: AFP extends battle plan linked to extra-judicial killings)
Oplan Bantay Laya II According to the military, Oplan Bantay Laya, which had been implemented since June 2007, reduced the strength of the New People's Army from 7,000 to less than 5,000. Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David dismissed this force as “inconsequential," noting that the NPA’s strength had exceeded 20,000 in the 1980s. Samar, Bicol, Caraga, Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, and Negros are provinces where insurgency is still present, the military earlier disclosed. Bantay Laya’s extension was sharply criticized by human rights advocates, who said that it would only bring a worsening of summary executions in the country. (See: Rights advocates criticize Oplan Bantay Laya extension) Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo, who headed a fact-finding body that investigated the spate of media killings during the Arroyo administration, counted among those who expressed unease over the campaign’s extension. Melo explained that in 2006, there were 144 victims of extrajudicial killings. All of these victims were unarmed and many of them had been abducted before they were killed. Many human rights groups have also said that the anti-insurgency campaigns merely target unarmed activists on the basis that they are suspected communist rebels. The new campaign plan, however, emphasizes the respect and upholding of human rights, the military said, noting that "such is one of the thrusts of President Benigno Aquino III". “The focus of the new campaign will be the respect for human rights… To achieve this (defeat of NPA), you have to have a clear human rights advocacy," David said in August, at the time Bantay Laya was extended.—DM/JV
