The leftist New People's Army (NPA) on Tuesday released an Army junior officer, who was abducted by the rebels about two months ago following a fierce firefight in the southern province of Compostela Valley, the Philippine military said.
Lt. Vicente Cammayo was released by the rebels to Davao City vice mayor Sarah Duterte Tuesday morning in the Agusan del Sur province, said Ernesto Torres, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Cammayo was later brought to the headquarters of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City for debriefing, Torres said. He was taken as a prisoner of war on Nov. 7 last year in a clash that also left two soldiers and a rebel dead.
"The release of Lt. Cammayo is a result of the concerted efforts of the local government officials, family of Lt. Cammayo and the security forces in the area," said the spokesman.
The local officials negotiated for Cammayo's release while the military applied pressure by waging rescue operations to recover the officer.
Torres said the military was not involved in the negotiations for the soldier's freedom.
"We maintain that the military was not involved in any negotiations, but rather an intensified rescue operation mission has been mapped out upon his abduction," he said.
At the same time, the official said that there was no reason for the military establishment to be grateful with the left-wing rebels over the release of Cammayo, adding that the abduction itself is against the law and the rebels should be held accountable for it.
"There is no reason for anybody to be grateful to the NPA for the release of Lt. Cammayo. The release of Lt. Cammayo is not an act of goodwill. Being a clear criminal act, those who are behind the abduction must be held responsible under a legitimate justice system and we shall continue our vigorous military operation to pursue the abductors," said Torres.
The 5,400-strong NPA has been waging a guerrilla war against the government since its founding in late 1960s. It halted peace talks with the government in 2003, irritated by the administration's inaction to remove it from the U.S. government's list of international terrorist organizations.
Source:Xinhua
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