AFP has ‘no regrets’ on decision not to immediately pull troops from Golan Heights

MANILA, Philippines—“No [regrets], it’s an honor and pride for our country to be deployed as UN peacekeepers because it shows that we can contribute to world peace and security,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. told reporters, addressing the decision to maintain Filipino peacekeeping troops in Golan Heights until their tour of duty is up in October of this year.

The decision comes despite previous incidents of abduction and the ongoing tense deadlock between the troops and armed Syrian rebels.

Last week, Filipino peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force that the Philippine were recalled due to the escalating security crisis in the Middle East. Filipino troops stationed in Liberia will also be pulled out “as soon as possible” due to the Ebola virus outbreak. Troops stationed in Haiti, on the other hand, have not been asked to return home.

On Thursday, the state of Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan Heights was once again headline news, as Syrian rebels confronted them in their camps at Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah to try and coerce them into surrendering their firearms. The rebels had earlier demanded Fijian peacekeepers to do the same and later on abducted 43 of them.

The Filipino troops, however, refused to give up their weapons, resulting in the ongoing tense standoff with the Syrian rebels. Seventy-five soldiers remain trapped.
The UN is currently negotiating on the release of the peacekeepers.

Catapang said that despite the incident, the AFP will not pull out the Filipino troops until the end of their tour of duty in October.

On its website, the AFP made a statement on Friday, which reads: “We have a standing commitment to UN and will abide by this until otherwise directed by our higher government authorities. We will exert all efforts to ensure the safety and security of our peacekeepers. The families of our soldiers are already aware of the situation and are in close coordination with our peacekeeping office.”

In a similar turn of events in March and May of 2013, several Filipino peacekeepers were abducted by Syrian and later on released, unharmed.