Insurgency: Army Heightens NPA Surveillance

Recently, on Panay Island, three top NPA leaders were killed. Now the AFP is heightening surveillance to prevent a resurgence.   

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1984874/philippine-army-heightens-npa-surveillance-on-panay-island

The military has ramped up its surveillance of the New People’s Army (NPA) on Panay Island, making it more challenging for the rebels to regroup and after three of their top leaders were killed.

Lieutenant Colonel J-Jay Javines, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s Third Infantry Division (3ID), said a “leadership vacuum” was hounding members of the NPA on Panay Island after a string of anti-insurgency operations by the government troops from July 29 to Aug. 31.

“Even if they find a replacement, it will be challenging as we are closely monitoring their movements,” he added.

From July 29 to Aug. 31, military forces conducted 14 operations that led to the killings of three NPA officials.

Among the fatalities were Maria Concepcion Araneta Bocala, also known as Concha, the first deputy secretary of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay (KR-P); Vivian Torato Teodosio, aka Minerva, secretary of the Central Front, KR-P; and Vicente Hinojales, aka Arjie, the regional secretary of KR-P.

Bocala, Teodosio, and Hinojales were killed on Aug. 15 in a firefight with the 82nd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Cabatangan, Lambunao, Iloilo.

Hinojales, a native of North Cotabato, who moved to Panay in 2017, was believed to be part of the group that clashed with soldiers in previous encounters in Barangay Cabatangan on Aug. 7 and in Barangay Aglonok in the adjacent town of Calinog on Aug. 5 and 8.

The Army said Hinojales was wanted for a string of criminal cases in Agusan del Sur, including arson, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.

He was also linked to the 2017 raid of a local police station and the ambush of a police vehicle in Maasin town, Iloilo.

Bocala, on the other hand, had a P5.3-million bounty on her head for murder and was a prominent figure in the NPA. She was arrested in 2015 but released in 2016 to participate in the peace talks between the government and the NPA in Norway.

When the peace talks were suspended in February 2017 by then-President Duterte, she went underground and did not attend the court hearings for her case.

The Philippine Army seized 30 firearms during the month-long operations.

Brigadier General Michael Samson, commander of the 301st Infantry Brigade, renewed his call for remaining NPA members to lay down their arms, warning that the military would not relent in its campaign against insurgency.

He also commended the local governments and various stakeholders in Iloilo for their collaborative efforts in promoting peace and encouraging rebel surrenders.

“The local government units in Iloilo have been very helpful and cooperative in attaining peace and order. Their efforts in helping us facilitate the rebels’ surrender are greatly appreciated,” Samson said.

If they are concerned about the rebels ability to regroup that means the rebels have the capability to regroup. Notice how they say, "Even if they find a replacement." But the AFP is on record saying the NPA is leaderless and unable to carry out tactical operations.  Yet, here they are doing their best to make sure they won't regroup which is a total contradiction of everything they have said. 

In Davao it seems NPA schools are experiencing a come back.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233507

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has warned the public against attempts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) to re-establish its influence in the Davao region by reviving the banned Salugpungan schools.

In a statement Monday, NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said the communist movement is actively campaigning to re-establish its presence in communities and is using tactics like spreading misinformation and exploiting social grievances.

"Last June, they (CPP-NPA) had a meeting where they discussed reviving radical Indigenous Peoples’ schools," Torres said.

He added that this effort is believed to be part of the communist insurgents' broader strategy to regain lost ground and rebuild their support base.

"We must be aware. We are appealing to our member agencies – the Department of (the) Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), among others – to be vigilant because the CPP-NPA is really planning to revive such schools," Torres warned.

The Salugpungan schools, established in 2007 as private learning institutions for indigenous learners, gained prominence in 2014 under the name "Salugpungan Ta' Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center, Inc."

However, the DepEd ordered in 2019 the closure of 55 Salugpungan schools in the Davao region due to various regulatory violations and allegations of their use as NPA recruitment centers.

All this chatter about the CPP-NPA attempting re-establish itself simply means they are not inutile and are far from done. Davao is a region that has been declared insurgency free. Never forget insurgency free does not mean zero insurgents.

The NTF-ELCAC is here to stay as long as Marcos is President.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/09/20/2386725/ntf-elcac-here-stay-under-marcos-admin

The head of the Department of Interior and Local Government wants to retain a Duterte-era anti-insurgency body that local and international human rights experts have called to scrap.

Instead of dismantling the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said he prefers to "upgrade" the controversial body and ensure that former armed insurgents do not regret their decision to surrender.

"This program is very effective... Those who really need help receive the money directly. P50,000 for livelihood [and] immediate assistance is there," Abalos said in mixed Filipino and English during the Senate's deliberations of the DILG's proposed 2025 budget on Thursday, September 19.

The DILG has been a part of the NTF-ELCAC since its creation in 2018 under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) 70. Since then, the task force has seen its sprawling membership reach nearly every major agency in Philippine government.

As the agency responsible for overseeing local government units, the DILG implements the NTF-ELCAC's flagship barangay development program, where it awards millions in funds to barangays that are "cleared" of rebel groups. These funds are then used to implement poverty alleviation and development projects.

But the barangay development program has recently drawn flak from House lawmakers during budget hearings after DILG officials told them that all 692 of the NTF-ELCAC's barangay development programs in 2024 remained unfinished. 

For Abalos, the NTF-ELCAC provides former rebels a "way to return to the fold" as various government agencies readily extend them help in doing so, he said in mixed Filipino and English. 

"We should strengthen [the NTF-ELCAC] even more to show them that they won’t regret it. They believed that they could truly change their lives. That's my take on this," Abalos said.

Makabayan bloc lawmakers have repeatedly called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and the realignment of its funds to social welfare and education items. 

For 2025, the NTF-ELCAC stands to get P9.25 billion, of which P7.83 billion will go to its barangay development program. This is at least three times higher than the P2.2 billion the flagship program received for 2024.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been keen to retain the task force his predecessor built even as two United Nations special rapporteurs have flagged it for red-tagging and endangering government critics and members of civil society. 

Sounds good but it has been admitted NONE of the projects funded for 2024 have been completed. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/08/16/2378106/none-885-ntf-elcac-barangay-projects-2024-finished

With four months left in 2024, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has yet to complete any of its 885 barangay development projects that were funded this year, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

During Wednesday's budget deliberations at the House of Representatives, DILG Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said the funds for the projects had just been released by the Department of Budget and Management. 

"That's why [local government units] are still in the process of procuring the projects," Iringan told the House appropriations panel during its hearing on the proposed budget for the DILG in 2025.

Iringan's statement came after Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Partylist) asked the DILG about the latest status of NTF-ELCAC's implementation of its flagship program for impoverished barangays.

Under the 2024 General Appropriations Act, the barangay development program was allotted P2.6 billion, which translates to P2.5 million per qualified barangay.

In the proposed 2025 budget, the government is seeking to hike this amount to P7.8 billion. 

Manuel said delays in the implementation of the program should lead to the eventual defunding of the task force, which Makabayan bloc lawmakers have long called to abolish.

"In this case, it's already August, and there are just four whole months remaining for the year.  If this continues, it won’t be the first time NTF-ELCAC has been this slow in utilizing its funds," the lawmaker said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Manuel said it took about two years for the program's budget in 2021 to reach a 96% obligation rate. 

"So if this is the current rate, how much of the funds will be used and by when? Will we reach 2027?" the lawmaker said.

The funds have just been released only when the year is almost over? That is mismanagement at the very least. A full investigation by the COA is needed.

That admission that no NTF-ELCAC projects for 2024 have been completed make this next story even more ridiculous.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233719

At least 11 projects under the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) designed to end insurgency are now ongoing in the town of Catarman in Northern Samar.

Catarman municipal engineer Carlito Danque said key officials on Thursday led the groundbreaking of these projects, including a potable water system, farm-to-market roads, school buildings, and barangay electrification.

Each of these projects costs PHP2.5 million and is up for completion in 2025.

The projects have been identified by communities during the conduct of the retooled community support program (RCSP).

“My message to village officials is for them to become active in monitoring the implementation to ensure its quality and timely completion,” Danque said in a phone interview.

The potable water system projects will be installed in Cag-abaca, Cularima, and Liberty villages, while.school buildings will rise in Aguinaldo, Guba, and Bocsol villages.

Recipients of renewable energy-based electrification projects are the villages of Salvacion, Cabayhan, Gebulwangan, Imelda, and Paticua.

SBDP, a flagship program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict bankrolled under the Local Government Support Fund, aims to address poverty and development in geographically isolated and disadvantageous areas that were once affected or influenced by the New People’s Army.

These projects are implemented in communities that are part of the RCSP, an inclusive program that addresses identified issues of the community by bridging it to the offices concerned, closing the governance and development gaps, ensuring sustainability, and promoting peace.

The recipient communities were RCSP areas of the Philippine Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion in 2023.

According to Catarman municipal engineer Carlito Danque local officials have to monitor these projects "to ensure its quality and timely completion." Where is the NTF-ELCAC in this? What is their level of involvement? Do they simply give the money and walk away? What about the DILG? Are they not supposed to monitor these projects and others like them?

Other projects are easier to implement. It's not hard is it to give money away to former rebels. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/20/18-rebel-returnees-receive-p360-000-livelihood-aid

Eighteen former New People’s Army (NPA) members received P360,000 in livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Wednesday, September 18.

Each recipient received P20,000 through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) at the Guihulngan Satellite Skills Development Center in Barangay Poblacion.

Beneficiaries surrendered to the Guihulngan City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (GCTF-ELCAC) and the Army 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB).

The Army said the amount will be used by recipients to purchase livestock that would provide them with a source of livelihood. 

This initiative is one of the government's efforts to help former rebels reintegrate to society, pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 70, or the whole of nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace, according to the 62nd IB.

It seems the NTF-ELCAC needs a full audit to make sure the money is going where in a timely manner it should and projects are being not only implemented but finished.