INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr. instructed the military to shift its focus on supporting the peace process to put a stop to armed conflict in the country, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday.
鈥淚鈥檓 very fortunate that I came from peace process perspective,鈥� Galvez, who concurrently sits as the chief of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
鈥淗is guidance 鈥� is that the military should refocus now its mission on supporting the peace process,鈥� Galvez added.
The OPAPRU is the lead agency in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict鈥檚 localized peace engagements with communists.
Under localized peace engagements, the government would talk to local communist commanders instead of the Communist Party of the Philippines鈥檚 (CPP) leaders. The CPP, however, rejected this arrangement.
Also, the OPAPRU is the lead agency in the decommissioning process of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters.