Headline
Duterte to pay soldiers P25K for every NPA killed
FILE: President Rodrigo Duterte (JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)
For the second time, the President reacted to Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison’s statement on killing soldiers a day, this time, with a comeback.
“Ang sabi ko rin sa lahat (I told everyone), ‘You kill —‘ Tinataasan ko na ngayon (I raised it). ‘You kill an NPA today and I’ll pay you 25 000,’” President Rodrigo Duterte said in a speech during his private meeting in Cebu City on February 13.
Duterte also said that he was computing if this ‘war’ versus the rebels reaches four years, it will be expensive.
“Kung bayaran ko na lang ‘yung buhay na (If I just pay the life with) 25 000, makamura ako (I can save) by about 47 percent,” he said.
Duterte also cited the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) in which when a member surrendered, their firearms are also surrendered and marked for liquidation.
“Now, ngayon, kung hindi ko rin ganunin, wala nang mag-surrender. ‘Di walang katapusan ang problema ko. Kaya sabi ko, tandaan ko kayo. (Now, if I do not do that, no one will surrender. That is why I said, I will remember you). Now I’m placing a premium. Sige, 25 000. Magkugi ka la’g kamang diha sa lasang, maka-igo gyud ka’g usa.
Igo man gani nimo ang langgam ngadto sa taas, eh kana pa.
Kadako ana’g ulo (If you work really hard to crawl across the forest, you will surely be able to shoot one. If you can shoot a bird above you, then how much more about an [NPA] whose head is so big?),” Duterte said in mixed Tagalog and Bisaya.
He further called the NPA rebels ‘boastful’ and criticized them for ‘leaving their families’ to treat Sison like a ‘god.’
The President was talking about the ‘heartaches’ that he is facing from his critics, when he remembered Sison’s statement last week saying, “The NPA (New People’s Army) in 17 regions has actually the capacity of knocking out at least one AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) soldier every day per region. That eliminates at least 510 enemy troops or some five companies every month nationwide.”
This was actually the second time for Duterte to react to the same statement, as he ordered the military to kill a ratio of five NPA rebels for every AFP soldier killed last week.
