NSC favors reactivation of CAFGUs

The National Security Council (NSC) fully supports the planned reactivation of the paramilitary Citizens Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGUs) to beef up the military's capability to protect national security.

In an official statement released after the NSC meeting in Malacañang yesterday, National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre said the panel reached an "enlightened consensus" on at least eight points taken up, particularly on the communist and Muslim insurgencies.

Aguirre underscored the Estrada administration's policy to vigorously pursue the peace process within a time frame, with June 30 this year as the target date for the forging of a peace accord with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and its military arm, the New People's Army (NPA).

Among the agreements reached during the meeting was the need to adopt a "total approach to end the armed conflicts, with the government pursuing a well-coordinated and effective implementation of a package of policies and programs addressing the socio-economic, political and military aspects of the situation."

Aguirre also cited the need to firmly address the internal threats to national security which adversely affect government initiatives toward socio-political stability and economic recovery and development.

"The national security situation is generally stable and promising in terms of the country's well-functioning democratic institutions, even as the country faces isolated disruptions to public order occasioned by ideologically instigated incidents and militant protests which are part of a liberal democratic environment," Aguirre said in a statement.

On the other hand, Senate Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona told reporters that Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes has admitted the military's concern over the intensified recruitment being conducted by the NPA and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Guingona quoted Reyes as saying the growth of the NPA and the MILF was largely due to mass poverty and perceived injustice among the rural folk.

House Majority Leader Eduardo Gullas said participants to the NSC meeting were more concerned about the MILF separatist struggle.

He said he believed that the NPA can be handled by the government, but the situation in Mindanao was more alarming.

Sen. Francisco Tatad, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, revealed that a Code of Conduct regarding the Spratly dispute was undergoing final touches in Bangkok. "We expect to have a fairly good document."

Tatad noted that the draft code hews closely to the Philippine position on the issue, but refused to elaborate.

The Philippines, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam are claiming, in part or in whole, the Spratly archipelago believed to be sitting atop vast oil and mineral deposits in the South China Sea.

For his part, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur Misuari said they are sticking to the 1996 peace treaty with the government. "I think we don't have a complete reason to abandon the peace agreement. We are sticking to it. But if the people continue to press us against the wall, then we might be able to go to the people and ask them for what other options they want if there are no more hopes for the peace agreement (with the MILF)."

Misuari warned, however, that "genuine autonomy" must be given to the ARMM. "Without genuine autonomy, we will repudiate all their actions," Misuari stressed.