Recalled UNDOF official returns home

MANILA, Philippines —  Col. Ezra James Enriquez returned to the Philippines on Wednesday after he was recalled by the Armed Forces from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF.

Enriquez, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 5:30 p.m., said in a television report that Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singa refused to accept his resignation to step down after they disagreed over besieged Filipinos in Golan Heights should surrender their weapons to Syrian rebels.

Enriquez, who was directly hired by the UN's peacekeeping arm, said he was instead placed on administrative leave by Singha.

Singha earned criticisms from the Philippine military for allegedly ordering late August 40 Philippine peacekeepers to surrender their arms to insurgents affiliated with al-Qaeda.

The resignation of Enriquez, who also serves as head of Philippine peacekeepers in Golan Heights, came after Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang called for the investigation of Singha.

In a public Facebook post earlier this week, Enriquez confessed his defiance of Singha's decision was his first in his years serving the military.

"I have been in the military service for 30 years and never defied tactical, operational or administrative orders from my superiors until that standoff in Position 68," Enriquez said.

The trapped 40 Filipino peacekeepers made what the AFP calls the "greatest escape" at nighttime while a ceasefire was in place.

JPhilippine military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang shows reporters where Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights have been repositioned during a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters on August 31, 2014. Inset shows Colonel Ezra Enriquez, Chief of Staff of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. AP/Aaron Favila | UNDOF

Enriquez arrived around 5:30 p.m. with two other Filipino peacekeepers and is expected to meet with Catapang and other AFP officials soon.

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