The New People’s Army released a new video On Sunday showing the five policemen they took captive on April 16.
In a statement released to local news organisations, NPA spokesman Rigoberto Sanchez, said the five are now under the custody of the First Pulang Bagani Battalion.
The statement also came with a video message, that the Prisoners of War appealed for the cessation of the military and police operations in Paquibato District.
Paquibato District has been a region which the military has continued its relent on bombings, airstrikes and ground operations in the area. One operation on April 18 nearly hurt or killed the officers, the video said.
The five policemen also called for the next president of the Philippines to assume the mantle of peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the GPH to speed up their early release.
The men were originally roaming the regions of Purok 5 in Barangay Mapula in Paquibato District when the NPA rebels blocked and kidnapped them.
An NPA spokesman said that the kidnapping of the was a “legitimate act of war, and in fact, a humane act when compared to the extreme torture or summary killings by AFP troops upon capturing red fighters or brutal incarceration under trumped-up charges of political prisoners.”
The spokesman added that there was no truth in PNP spokesman Wilben Mayor’s claim that the kidnapped police officers were being kept in makeshift animal cages.
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