AFP thumbs down all-out war vs MILF

Despite the setbacks it recently suffered at the hands of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the military is still not keen on pursuing an all-out war against the secessionist rebels. “If we are going to answer with violence, there is going to be more casualties," said Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, the public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “If you want retaliation, we can retaliate, but let’s us see the casualties, not only on the part of the Armed Forces and the other side but also to the Filipino people, the civilians in the area, the people who will be displaced," he added. More than two dozen soldiers have been killed in attacks perpetrated by the MILF in several areas in Mindanao over the past week, prompting calls for the government to suspend the ceasefire and launch an all-out war against the rebels. The attacks occurred while the government and the MILF were observing ceasefire in connection with the peace negotiations. Burgos said the military appreciates the calls for an all-out offensive against the rebels, particularly those coming from the public through Facebook and Twitter. “We know that people are commiserating with the members of the AFP, their emotions are high. On our part, we feel that way also. We are also humans. But the answer is not through offensive, that we have to use the barrel of the guns to solve this," he said. A military spokesman, Col. Antonio Parlade of the Philippine Army, has been relieved from his position for his statement that the ceasefire agreement should be suspended in the wake of the MILF attacks. Burgos said history dictates that the negotiating table is the better option, and that “waging war is always the last resort." — KBK, GMA News