The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Wednesday it welcomes the intervention of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the condition of the 43 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) arrested February 6 in Morong, Rizal, and who are presently detained at Camp Capinpin in Tanay.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr., AFP spokesman, said the representatives from the ICRC will definitely be allowed to visit the 43 suspected NPA rebels at their detention facility, as he stressed that the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) has nothing to hide.

Brawner said the 2ID is expecting the ICRC to visit the detainees either Thursday or Friday.

“According to the ICRC, their concern is on the condition of the 43 detainees, if they are being fed well, if they have facilities, if they are given time to sun themselves and other conditions,” said Brawner, adding the military will show the visitors the actual conditions of the detainees.

The AFP spokesman also said the military welcomes any recommendation from the human rights body and even the ICRC on how to improve the condition of the detainees.

“We welcome these recommendations and visits just to show that no torture or sexual harassments are taking place inside the detention facility,” according to Brawner, as he noted that some of the detainees have even expressed their desire to stay at the camp’s detention facility instead of being transferred to the provincial jail.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Army appealed to concerned groups to refrain from throwing accusations against the organization regarding the arrest of the 43 suspects, as it also called on families of the accused and their supporters to stop vilifying the military through publicity since the arrest is legitimate by virtue of a warrant of arrest.

Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos, Jr., Army spokesman, said “Cases have already been filed in Court. The 43 accused has been formally charged and criminal charges against them constitute sufficient legal grounds for their continued detention.”

“The Philippine Army, in all its activities, always upholds the rule of law and trusts the country’s judicial system. It continues to follow the legal processes and is confident that the truth will surface and that justice would be served. Again, the organization maintains that the arrest of the 43 NPA members is legal having been caught in the act of possession of illegal firearms and explosives. It would be up to them to prove their innocence in court,” according to Burgos,

The Army spokesman said the arrest of the 43 suspects has greatly crippled surviving fronts of the CPP-NPA and showed the armed terrorist movement’s weakness by voluntarily exposing themselves.

“The Army will not be cowed by black propaganda of the NPA exerting all efforts to discredit the organization. The CPP and the ideology it is propagating is not illegal. However, the methodology that the NPA uses, employing violence to espouse their agenda, is a criminal offense and definitely against the law. They have lost their ideology for they have become plain bandits and criminals, sabotaging vital economic facilities and extorting money from the people,” said Burgos.