Catapang insists Singha gave orders of surrender

Philippine military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang shows reporters where Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights have been repositioned during a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in suburban Quezon city. AP FILE PHOTO

NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines—Standing firm, the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday afternoon insisted the Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force gave orders of surrender to the Filipino UN Peacekeepers in Golan Heights.

General Gregorio Pio Catapang, AFP Chief of Staff, said Thursday at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva, Ecija that the report they would send to President Benigno Aquino III on what transpired during the “greatest escape” in Golan Heights included the orders of Lieutenant General Iqbal Singh Singha for Filipino troops to wave the white flag.

Singha reportedly ordered Filipino troops to surrender their weapons to allow, presumably, the safe return of Fijians Peacekeepers.

“Based on our report, it’s what happened (there was the order of surrender),” Catapang said. “We won’t put that in the report if there wasn’t such order.”

On Thursday, Herve Ladsous, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, denied that Singha gave the orders of surrender.

In a report from Reuters, Ladsous said the order was to “never hand weapons” and it was simply “not to shoot.”

Though the UN denied the order, Catapang was not surprised and even asked to Singha to give official reports on the alleged surrender orders.

Catapang said that, with a report to be sent to the President, they would wait for further instructions that the Commander-In-Chief would issue.

Even with the alleged defiance, Catapang added that they are still willing to help the UN, this time as part of the discussed UN Standby Agreement System.

“We will propose to the UN so that they would see that we are not withdrawing our international commitment,” Catapang said.

Unsas member-countries would send troops to areas where countries would need reinforcements from other militaries.

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