Duterte says NPA has revived infamous hit squad Sparrow Unit

President Rodrigo Duterte has warned soldiers against the supposed resurgence of the Sparrow Unit, the infamous hit squad of the New People's Army (NPA).

In a report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday, Duterte warned soldiers against the revival of the Sparrow Unit after failed talks between the government and the rebel troops.

"Bantay kayo diyan sa ano... I'm trying to enlist also the help of former police officers assigned in Mindanao for the Sparrow's most active," he said in the report.

"Nagbibigay ako ng mga armas — with all these, the caveat, the warning na bantay kayo sa Sparrow," he said during his speech at the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga on Saturday.

He said soldiers should remain on guard against the infamous hit squad even if they are off-duty and in their homes.

Duterte officially terminated the government's peace negotiations with the communist group in November last year.

He had also signed a proclamation categorizing the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA as terrorist groups. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/ALG, GMA News