Insurgency: Over 500 Community Projects

The AFP is trying new things to end the insurgency. Well, maybe these community programs are nothing new exactly. But they really do underscore the fact that the AFP has transformed good governance into a counterinsurgency program.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211518

The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Tuesday said 569 community development projects in central Philippines’ 16 provinces immensely contributed to the impending complete downfall of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Viscom chief, said the projects hatched through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s (NTF-ELCAC) Barangay Development Program (BDP) aided the military to further neutralize communist leaders, most of whom surrendered to authorities.

“We have sustained our gains and prevented the CPP-NPA from regaining their foothold in the region. We will continue our relentless focused military operations to further push the terrorist group to their imminent collapse,” he said on the sidelines of a command conference at the Viscom headquarters here late Monday.

Arevalo said 263 of the BDP in the Visayas were programmed in 2021 while 306 were in 2022.

He disclosed that cases filed against NPA rebels include recruitment, killings, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, destruction of civilian properties, and use of children in armed conflict.

“The CPP-NPA’s reign of terror in the region is nearing its end. Their leaders continue to fall and their members continue to return to the fold of the law,” he said

They do not disclose exactly what these programs are which is disappointing. Where is the transparency? What is it? Roads? Feeding programs? Who knows!

The AFP is now targeting the families of NPA rebels in an effort "to completely wipe out the insurgency in the province." 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211572

The Philippine Army and the local government of Borongan in Eastern Samar will extend more assistance to families of active members of the New People’s Army (NPA) as part of their strategy to completely wipe out the insurgency in the province.

This developed as the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade recently launched the Friends Rescued Engagement through their Families (FReE Families) project to prevent the recruitment of family members of active NPA combatants.

“The FReE Families project aims to help the families of active NPA members in the 802nd Brigade’s area of operation in Eastern Samar from the anxiety caused by the continued membership of their relatives in the NPA," commander of the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, said in an interview on Wednesday.

"It has been observed that these family members are also pressured by the Communist Terrorist Group’s leadership to join or support the armed struggle through disinformation, such as instilling hate and fear of the government."

Some officials of the military, police, and local governments, and 29 family members of 19 active NPA members who are residents of the province witnessed the launch of the project in Borongan on Oct. 4.

“The launch was also a venue to know the families’ concerns on having loved ones involved in the communist armed movement. These family members and relatives of active NPA members were also accompanied by their respective village chiefs during the activity to show their endless support in bringing their misguided loved ones to return to the mainstream society and live a peaceful life,” Vestuir added.

Since the transfer of the 802nd brigade from Ormoc City in Leyte to Borongan City in Eastern Samar in May this year, at least seven active NPA combatants have surrendered, while hundreds of their supporters in some parts of Samar provinces have abandoned the communist ideology.

Vestuir attributed this accomplishment to the FReE Families-related program of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in collaboration with family members.

This raises a lot of questions. Notably if the AFP knows who is kin to NPA rebels then they know who these rebels are by name. That means they could get a better count on how many rebels remain but we have seen that when it comes to numbers the AFP is just guessing. 

In Neros Island the AFP is ramping up peace programs. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211617

The Philippine Army is strengthening local peace engagements in Negros Island to resolve conflict and encourage Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels to return to the fold of the law.

Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) and Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, underscored such an initiative in support of the whole-of-government approach mandated under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELAC).

“We should support the NTF-ELCAC and local peace engagement to prevent and resolve conflicts and violence,” Sison said in a statement on Wednesday.

He assured that the 3ID would protect the Negrenses and end the decades-long insurgency.

“Whatever we are doing now is part of the efforts that the soldiers of the 3ID are undertaking. It’s not just a promise, it's our commitment to the Filipino people and our country,” he added.

Data from the 3ID showed that from January 2022 to date, the CPP-NPA has been responsible for the deaths of 34 civilians, five soldiers, three former rebels, four government officials, and one police officer in Negros Island.

The communist group had admitted responsibility for 25 violent incidents as published on their websites.

“We are pursuing more comprehensive local peace engagements so that the remaining NPA fighters in the mountains can surrender and avail of our government’s program to start a new life with their families,” Edralin said.

According to the NTF-ELCAC, the local peace engagement intends to facilitate the peace process from the bottom level of the locality or community.

“This is highly encouraged as its main essence is to reach the possible group of surrenderers down the line,” it added.

The main essence of these programs is to reach surrenderers!? If that is the case then there is no reason Marcos has not declared amnesty yet. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211688

The implementation of an amnesty program for active members of the New People’s Army could help the government address the insurgency problem in Northern Samar, according to Governor Edwin Ongchuan.

The governor said he noticed that rebels with standing warrants of arrest are hesitant to surrender, which hinders the goal of the government to completely wipe out insurgency in the province.

“Many are willing to surrender, but they don’t want to get arrested. The amnesty program will convince more of them to abandon the armed struggle and join the government’s peace and development efforts,” Ongchuan said in an interview Thursday.

During his second State of the Nation Address last July, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said he will sign a proclamation granting amnesty to rebels involved in armed struggle.

An organization of former rebels in the region, the USWAG Siniringan Bisayas, supported the initiative.

The group said the amnesty program could be a tool to convince those who are still active members of the communist group to lay down their arms and return to the folds of law.

Recently, 35 former rebels from the province received financial assistance from the government through the Enhanced Comprehensive Livelihood Program, a government initiative aiming to provide a comprehensive package of benefits and assistance for those who decided to return to the fold of the law.

Countering insurgency is a top priority of the provincial government as Northern Samar is the last bastion of insurgency with the existence of two active NPA guerilla fronts.

Rebels with long standing warrants means they are known by name. Again that means the AFP knows who these people are. And to give these people amnesty would be a travesty of justice. No doubt these warrants are for murder.

The AFP says the NPA is responsible for the deaths of 34 civilains in Negros Island in the past year. 

https://visayandailystar.com/npa-blamed-for-34-civilian-deaths-in-negros/

The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division reported that the New People’s Army perpetrated 51 violent incidents in Negros Island alone, from 2022 up to August 9 this year, which resulted in the death of 34 civilians, five Army soldiers, three former rebels, four barangay officials, and a police officer

Of the 34 slain civilians, 22 were suspected as military informants, according to a military report.

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, who yesterday attended a press briefing organized by the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City, noted that almost all the killings were claimed by the New People’s Army, as published in their social media accounts.

Edralin noted that the increase in numbers of civilians being liquidated also came in the wake of increased encounters between NPA remnants and Army soldiers, where many rebels died, including their leaders.

According to Edralin, their admission of responsibility for killings of alleged military informants form part of the NPA propaganda to prove that they still exist, despite the debacles they suffered in sustained military focused operations of the Philippine Army, the general said.

Aside from killing innocent civilians, Edralin also reported the ongoing purging of suspected military informants among the rank and file of the NPA.

“It shows how frustrated they are, on their current situation,” he added.

Military records further showed that eight heavy equipment and cargo trucks were burned by the NPA.

Why should these criminals be given amnesty and not be held accountable for their crimes? 

It turns out that the AFP does not want these people held accountable because they are convincing families of those slain by the NPA to not press charges.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1845385/courts-acquit-13-npa-surrenderees-in-zamboanga-del-sur

Around 13 former New People’s Army rebels who had surrendered to the military were recently acquitted of various charges by several courts in Zamboanga del Sur, an Army official said.

Lt. Col. Terence Ylanan, commander of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, told the Inquirer that the former rebels received their respective copies of the decisions on the cases last Monday.

Ylanan disclosed that every former rebel faced three to four cases, mostly murder, frustrated murder, grave threats, and arson — crimes that they allegedly committed while still active in the communist guerrilla movement.

Lawyer Jose Ruel Saniel, head of the legal cluster of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), assisted the 13 former rebels in the process of dealing with the charges for about a year and a half.

Before having their records cleared, “and in between court hearings, the PTF-ELCAC prepared them for their reintegration to their communities through livelihood and skills trainings while they were secured at the halfway houses constructed specifically for the surrenderees,” Ylanan said.

Ylanan also explained that the legal team assisted in dialogues with families, both from the military and civilians killed in encounters, to convince them to desist from the cases filed against the former rebels.

That is simply outrageous.