Insurgency: DepEd CIF Cut

The House of Representatives has decided to strip the Department of Education of all its confidential intelligence funds. DepEd Secretary Duterte said such funds were necessary to stop recruitment by the NPA in the nation's schools. Now Senator Bato says teachers must remain vigilant and watch out for recruitment activities.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213384

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Thursday urged teachers to watch out for the possible boost in the recruitment of insurgents from among the basic education learners after the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) was removed by Congress from the Department of Education (DepEd).

This, after Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte conceded from asking the lawmakers for the CIF for both the Office of the Vice President and the DepEd, which dela Rosa commended saying the move "spared the Senate from debates."

"My appeal to them is that even without the confidential funds, we can should make sure that no student will be recruited by the CPP-NPA in remote areas then fight our government and die," dela Rosa said in his manifestation during the Senate plenary debates of the DepEd's proposed 2024 budget.

"We are on the last stretch of our campaign in this insurgency but now they are motivated, the communists because it seems like they really won. They stopped DepEd from having their confidential funds which is supposed to be used against the recruitment of the students in Senior High School," he added.

Dela Rosa cited the previous investigation conducted by the Senate in response to missing Senior High School learners who turned out to be recruited by the insurgents.

In a previous statement, the DepEd said that its CIF is being used to eliminate threats to the learning environment, as well as safety, and security of DepEd personnel which may include sexual abuse and all other forms of violence; graft and corruption; involvement in illegal drugs of learners and personnel; recruitment to insurgency, terrorism, and violent extremism; child labor; child pornography; and recruitment to criminal activities, gangsterism, and financial and other scams.

These unlawful acts, the DepEd statement said, need the support of surveillance and intelligence gathering "to ensure that projects of DepEd are target-specific and will result in the broader protection of our personnel and learners."

The DepEd was asking for PHP150 million as CIF but was cut by the House of Representatives.

It goes without saying that Senator Bato is as dumb as a rock which is befitting his name which means rock. How exactly did the CPP-NPA stop the DepEd from being allowed confidential intelligence funds? They did not. This is a backhand effort at labeling certain Representatives as CPP-NPA members. In reality the House of Representatives as a whole voted to realign CIF from several agencies to security agencies because of the threats facing the nation especially from China in the WPS.

The fact is the DepEd does not have any intel gathering mandate. Stopping recruitment falls to the AFP, the NICA, the NBI, and the PNP. Those agencies are all tasked with gathering intel to keep the nation safe. 

Local and barangay officials are expected to step up anti-insurgency campaigns in Negros Oriental following the signing of an MOA. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213373

Local chief executives and barangay officials in Negros Oriental are expected to step up their individual and collective efforts to stamp out the communist insurgency in their areas after the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Thursday, an Army official said.

Brig. Gen. Joey Escanillas, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, said in an interview that the agreement identifies the specific roles of the local government units (LGUs) and barangay officials in assisting law enforcement units in addressing the insurgency problem.

Escanillas noted that in the current provincial government-led program to end local communist insurgency, some local executives appeared to be not proactive enough.

“Actually, the main role in the anti-insurgency fight should be with the mayors because many of the members of these communist terrorist groups are their constituents,” he said.

The issues and concerns raised by these insurgents have to be addressed first and foremost by the LGUs and barangays through their officials while the military and the police are tasked to deal with the problem through armed operations, Escanillas added.

The city, municipal, and barangay officials, he said, know their constituents better and have linkages with them, making it easier to reach out to them and address their issues.

The usual issues raised by the communist groups against the government, such as land, delivery of basic services, and project implementation, ought to be given attention to prevent the resurgence of the insurgency in their areas, Escanillas said.

The MOA between the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Provincial Peace and Order Council, and city and municipal mayors in Negros Oriental aim to come up with harmonized programs and projects to eradicate the insurgency problem.

It also calls on the LGUs to activate their respective Local Peace Engagement efforts to reach the grassroots level.

The agreement also stipulates that mayors and even barangay officials, in a proactive role, would initiate the filing of cases against persons financing terrorism; monitor and report to the AFP or PNP the presence of suspected urban-based communist groups and their activities; coordinate with the security sector in verifying groups that may have links to the rebel groups; and establish a systematic referral of primary local issues, among others.

Escanillas said there is a monthly reporting system for the mayors regarding their undertakings to carry out the MOA.

No mayor was present during the activity, which Escanillas said was due to the late delivery of invitation letters. They, however, sent their representatives. 

Once again this is a program reducing good governance to an anti-insurgency program. What are these mayors and barangay officials supposed to do? Go out to the NPA camps and plead with them to surrender because new farm-to-market roads have been built? 

The fight against the NPA in Negros continues with both surrenders and clashes. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213335

Some 10 Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels and two militia members surrendered to the military in central and south Negros in recent months, the Philippine Army said in reports on Thursday.

Among them are two rebels from the remnants of Central Negros Front 2 who turned themselves in to troops of the 94th Infantry Battalion (IB) after an encounter in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, on Wednesday. 

“The successful encounter delivered a substantial blow to the already weakened NPA presence in central Negros. In the wake of this significant victory, I extend an open invitation to all remaining NPA members to surrender,” Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commanding officer of 94IB, said in a statement. 

After a 15-minute firefight, some of the nine NPA rebels fled, leaving behind their comrades, who eventually surrendered to the government troops. 

During the clearing operation, the soldiers recovered weapons, including three M16 rifles, an M653 rifle, an M1 Garand rifle, two M14 rifles, a shotgun upper receiver, and assorted live ammunition. 

Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Battalion reported the surrender of eight NPA rebels and two Militia ng Bayan members from Sipalay City and Cauayan and Candoni towns in the past several months at its headquarters in Cauayan as a result of the intensified community support program operations. 

The first group included five NPA leaders and members and one militia member, while the other batch comprised three combatants and another militia member. 

All the surrenderers belonged to Platoon 3 of South West Front, operating in the mountainous areas of the province’s sixth district.

According to the 15IB report, they decided to surrender due to a lack of food and physical exhaustion since they could no longer conduct extortion activities because of the sustained presence of military forces.

Oh look, it's another encounter delivering "a substantial blow to the already weakened NPA." That's what the AFP says every single time they encounter the NPA except this time 9 of them got away!

Two NPA fighters were killed in a recent clash. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1857243/2-npa-rebels-slain-in-negros-occidental-clashes-says-army

Two alleged communist rebels were killed Tuesday in encounters with government soldiers in Cauayan town, Negros Occidental.

The Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion soldiers engaged about 10 members of the South West Front (SWF), Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor in two consecutive encounters at Sitio Cambaga in Barangay Yao-Yao, Cauayan, said Lieutenant Colonel J-Jay Javines, 3ID Public Affairs Office chief.

The clashes resulted in the deaths of two unidentified alleged members of the New People’s Army whose bodies were recovered from the encounter site.

Seized from the site were an M-653 rifle, M-14 rifle, .45 caliber pistol, an anti-personnel mine with blasting cap, M-14 magazines, ammunition, medical paraphernalia, personal belongings, and antigovernment documents with high intelligence value.

The same group of rebels were involved in an encounter on Sept. 21 with 47th Infantry Battalion troops in Barangay Tabugon, Kabankalan City, which led to the deaths of six NPA members, he added.

The seized .45 caliber pistol belonged to Sergeant Jhoerom Meguillo, one of the two soldiers killed in an ambush on April 3, 2021 by the same NPA group, Javines said.

This same group was involved in an encounter with the AFP back in September which means they regrouped and did not disband or stay home to lick their wounds. The NPA remains active and dangerous. 

In October 25 NPA surrenders and 3 were killed in the Visayas. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1855990/25-npa-rebels-surrender-3-killed-in-visayas-in-october

At least 28 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were neutralized during eight government-initiated encounters in the Visayas last month.

Lieutenant General Benedict Arevalo, commander of the Visayas Command (Viscom), said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA suffered devastating losses in October after the deaths of three rebels.

Of the 25 who surrendered, 19 were regular NPA combatants, while six were members of the Militia ng Bayan (People’s Militia).

At least 61 CPP-NPA supporters also denounced their support for the communist group and pledged allegiance to the government in the same month.

“Defeating the CPP-NPA in the Visayas region remains on top of our list amidst our mandate to support the Comelec (Commission on Elections) in ensuring the success of the recently concluded Barangay and SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) Elections,” Arevalo said in a statement.

“Our efforts against the CPP-NPA will never falter, as we respond to the call of our people for just and lasting peace in the entire region,” he added.

Governent troops also seized 30 firearms and six anti-personnel mines in October.

Arevalo vowed to sustain the efforts to eliminate members of the communist group in the region as he appealed to the NPA rebels to surrender.

“As for the few remaining members of the CPP-NPA, Christmas is fast approaching, just imagine your families and loved ones and how happy they will be to celebrate the season with you. Choose the path of peace and return to the fold of the law now, while you still can,” he said.

With only six weeks to go it remains to be seen if the promise of ending the insurgency this year will be fulfilled.