Escalation of violence looms after mass arrest order vs. Reds

With President Rodrigo Duterte's order for the mass arrest of the Reds and their allies, a House lawmaker said Thursday that escalation of violence between government security forces and the the communist rebels would be a real threat in 2018.

GMA News' Rowena Salvacion on "Dobol B sa News TV" quoted House defense committee vice chairman Rep. Ruffy Biazon as saying that security forces should always be on heightened alert.

Biazon also said that the New People's Army would probably  intensify its offensives and completely turn their backs on peace negotiations.

More armed encounters could be expected, Biazon said, adding that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police should brace themselves for more armed encounters throughout the country. 

But party-list ACT-Teachers' Rep. France Castro expressed fears that Duterte's mass-arrest order could be used by the military and the police against legitimate organizations and people they perceived as enemies of the state and political  opponents.

He also said that US intervention (especially the CIA) could intensify, under the pretext of the global war on terror. —LBG, GMA News