Insurgency: Insurgency-Free Seal

Another Laguan town has been declared insurgency free.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1222918

Paete town was officially declared insurgency-free, making it the fourth municipality in this province to be included in the roster of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) areas, the Laguna Provincial Police Office (LPPO) announced on Thursday.

Col. Gauvin Mel Unos, acting director of the LPPO, told reporters that Paete follows the lead of Kalayaan and Santa Maria towns, which were declared free of rebel influence in July 2023, and Cavinti town, which received its insurgency-free seal on Feb. 27.

"This declaration is a testament to Laguna citizens’ desire to break free from the clutches of terrorism and instead focus on harnessing their economic potential by ensuring peace within their communities," he said.

Unos disclosed that other jurisdictions within the province are candidates for SIPS status as well, and an evaluation process is being undertaken by the LPPO in collaboration with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

He said that under current government guidelines, a jurisdiction can only be awarded the SIPS seal if no violent terrorist activities have been recorded within its boundaries for at least one year.

Paete is a fourth class municipality in the province of Laguna with a population of 29,945 according to a 2020 census.

The basis for this declaration is that "no violent terrorist activities have been recorded within its boundaries" for a whole year. As we have previously seen that does not mean there are no insurgents. It simply means there have been no violent activities in a 365 day period. But too often the rebels show their faces before long.

The AFP says amnesty is key to ending the insurgency. But the NTF-ELCAC says the Anti-Terrorism Council's redesignation of the CPP-NPA as a terror group is also vital to ending the insurgency. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1222925

The Anti-Terrorism Council's (ATC) move to redesignate the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) as a terror group is a big boost to curb insurgency, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Thursday.

In a statement, NTF-ELCAC executive director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., said this is “significant” in the campaign to eliminate all remaining 11 weakened NPA guerilla fronts this year to achieve total victory against the communist movement.

Torres also noted that the ATC conducted a thorough analysis of the data and reaffirmed the CPP-NPA's status as a terrorist organization.

"The CPP-NPA's continued classification is justified by its flagrant violations of Section 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which includes acts of terrorism against government forces and instilling fear among the general population. The CPP-NPA's involvement in numerous crimes resulting in fatalities and widespread disruption underscore the significance of this classification," he explained.

According to the 2023 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), the NPA is ranked 15th among the 20 Deadliest Terror Groups of 2022, underscoring the severe threat posed by the CPP-NPA's terrorist activities.

Torres said the redesignation marks a critical step in the collective efforts to combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of all citizens.

He also affirmed the NTF-ELCAC's support for the ATC in addressing the challenges posed by terrorist organizations like the CPP-NPA.

"We also welcome ATC Resolution Number 53, which identifies Elizabeth Pineda Principe, known by various aliases, as a terrorist individual," Torres said.

He also added that the resolution "meticulously outlines the reasons" for designating Principe as a terrorist individual.

"It details her involvement in armed encounters, recruitment efforts, and planning sessions aimed at escalating and perpetuating terrorist activities. Principe's role as a high-ranking leader and Central Committee member of the CPP-NPA, as stated in the resolution, strengthens the ATC's decision," Torres said.

He added the designation highlights the severity of Principe's involvement in terrorist activities, as evidenced by her direct participation in armed encounters, sabotage incidents, and recruitment efforts for the CPP-NPA.

Torres stressed that the ATC's thorough examination of evidence gathered by Philippine law enforcement agencies and the military has revealed probable cause for Principe's involvement in terrorist planning, facilitation, and execution.

However, this redesignation occurred in 2020 and the insurgency is still ongoing. 

Recently a clash in Albay resulted in the death of an NPA fighter and the discovery of an arm's cache. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/19/npa-killed-arms-cache-recovered-in-albay

A member of the New People's Army (NPA) was killed and his two comrades were arrested during an encounter in remote Barangay Magogon, Camalig, Albay on Thursday, April 18.

Police Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-5 (PRO-5), said a concerned citizen reported their presence to authorities.

Police, soldiers, and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency-5 personnel were deployed to the area and engaged an undetermined number of communist rebels. The encounter lasted for about 30 minutes.

No casualty was recorded on the government side. The fatality is yet to be identified.

Arrested were identified as alias Marsi or Masi, 42, a construction worker, and Ka Yeng, 44, a farmer.

Calubaquib said that Marsi had a standing warrant of arrest for attempted murder and destructive arson.

Ka Yeng had a warrant of arrest for murder with no bail recommended.

She said the arrested rebels revealed to the Camalig Municipal Police Station the location of an arms cache in Purok 3, Barangay Panoypoy, Camalig. Troops recovered the weapons stash in a follow-up operation.

PRO-5 Director Police Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon commended operating units for their achievement. 

Another NPA arms cache has been discovered Quezon. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/20/npa-arms-cache-recovered-in-quezon

A New People’s Army (NPA) arms cache was recovered in Barangay Piis here on Friday afternoon, April 19.

Police Major Marnie Abellanida, Lucban police chief, said a rebel returnee reported to them that an arms cache was buried in the area.

The police and military went to the area and excavated war materials composed of a hand grenade, caliber .38 revolver, and explosive devices.

The war materials belong to the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) 4-A.

Meanwhile, two NPA rebels – Sak and Tomas – surrendered to the police in Laguna and Batangas on Friday.

Sak was a member of party-list group Bayan and an organizer of the Southern Tagalog Cultural Network (STCN). He surrendered in Barangay Looc in Calamba City, Laguna.

Tomas turned himself in Camp Col. Jose P. Razon in Barangay Bilaran, Nasugbu, Batangas. He surrendered a caliber .38 with bullets and a rifle grenade.

An NPA arms cache was aslo discoveed in Cagayan. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/20/communist-weapons-stash-found-in-cagayan

A New People’s Army arms cache was unearthed in Alcala, Cagayan on April 19.

A former communist rebel revealed the location of the weapons stash to authorities.

The police and military were deployed to Sitio Banal in Barangay Dalaoig and found 18 40mm cartridge, three short magazines for M16, 75 M16 bullets, 12 .38 caliber ammunition, seven M14 bullets, and seven Carbine ammunition.

These were taken to the Alcala police station for proper disposition.

The operation was part of the efforts of the Cagayan Police Provincial Office led by Police Col. Julio S. Gorospe Jr. to address insurgency in this province. 

Now, we have heard so much about how the AFP wants the remaining NPA to surrender so they can assimilate back into society and avail of the many offered benefits like housing and money. But not all ex-rebels have turned good. Some of them have become hired assassins. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1931421/trader-ex-rebel-ordered-arrested-for-agusan-sur-exec-slay

A Quezon City court has ordered the arrest of a businessman, and a former New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla, so they would be made to answer for their alleged involvement in the killing in 2021 of retired Colonel Samuel Afdal.

Presiding Judge Juris Dilinila-Callanta of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 85 issued the arrest warrant against Ryan Mark Baylon, president of JB Earthmovers Inc. based in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, and former rebel Rosalino Degracia alias Okie, for the murder of Afdal, who owned the Rosario Manobo Mining Corp. (RMMC).

No bail was recommended.

Baylon and Degracia are among four identified suspects in the ambush of Afdal on Oct. 26, 2021, in Sta. Cruz village of Rosario town, Agusan del Sur as he was driving along an uphill road toward the RMMC base camp.

Although hit, the former soldier managed to drive toward the RMMC compound and sought help. He was rushed to a local hospital where he later lapsed into a coma and died on Nov. 15, 2021.

A third suspect, Alemar Awado alias Dongkoy, also a former NPA guerrilla, had been detained in a jail in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur for another murder charge.

The case of Afdal is now heard in a Quezon City court after the Supreme Court granted the prayer of his widow, Evelyn, the main complainant, for transfer of venue from Regional Trial Court Branch 6 in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur.

Before the transfer of venue, Agusan del Sur provincial prosecutor Ceferino Dino Paredes indicted Awado, Baylon, and Degracia for Afdal’s ambush before the court in Prosperidad last Jan. 31.

In his Jan. 18 resolution, Paredes gave credence to the accounts of the fourth suspect, former NPA rebel Jeffrey Mamerto, who admitted to have staged the ambush against Afdal, known to his associates as Saga.

On the basis of his admission, Mamerto pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of homicide and was meted a 10-year prison term by Prosperidad RTC Presiding Judge Emily Zen Chua.

Mamerto was indicted for the crime in November 2022 but it was only in October 2023 that he confessed about his role in it.

Mamerto had pointed to Baylon, Afdal’s business associate, as the mastermind of the kill plot, allegedly offering his former NPA colleagues Degracia and Awado P200,000 to do the hit job. Mamerto, in turn, was contracted for P50,000 to pull the trigger against Afdal.

This whole hit against retired Colonel Samuel Afdal was carried out by ex-rebels who have surrendered. One of them surrendered four years ago in January, 2020. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1092354

The Army’s 75th Infantry Battalion reported Wednesday (January 29) the surrender of four regular members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Surigao del Sur.

Lt. Col. Warren Munda, 75IB commander, identified the four NPA rebels with their aliases as “Lupin”, “Randy”, “Gaston”, and “Dongkoy,” who were assigned to the Guerrilla Front 14 (GF-14), North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), of the NPA.

Munda said the surrenderers turned over firearms and ammunition when they yielded in Barangay Maharlika, Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, on January 27.

The Army official welcomed the surrender of the four NPA rebels, saying the government is always open and ready to accept rebels who would decide to return to the fold of the law.

“We will help you to start anew, and together we will help each other bringing high hopes for our community to be more developed and peaceful,” Munda said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

In the same statement, one of the former rebels identified as “Lupin” said they could no longer bear the hardships they experience in the hinterlands of Surigao del Sur.

Lupin said they were also motivated to yield because of their desire to reunite with their families.

 

Munda said the four former rebels will be enrolled in the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) for them to receive immediate cash and livelihood assistance as well as remuneration for the surrendered firearms.

“We will help you to start anew, and together we will help each other bringing high hopes for our community to be more developed and peaceful," says the AFP. And several of them have returned to their old ways. Is this a rare event? Even if it is not it underscores the fact that NPA rebels are criminals and need to be prosecuted and imprisoned, not given taxpayer funded benefits or amnesty.