The AFP is trying their hardest to win the hearts and minds of the people in order to end the insurgency. Most of this consists in bribing rebels with money, housing, and job training in hopes they will surrender. It also seems playing Godfather to ex-rebel's infants is part of that effort.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121993 |
The babies of two former rebels of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in southern Negros were baptized during the recent 47th founding anniversary rites of the Philippine Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion (IB).
Lt. Col. Erwin Cariño, commander of 15IB, said on Monday sponsoring the baptism of the children is a privilege for them.
“Family is the bedrock of society and the 15IB is always ready to help them integrate into the community. Our former rebels are already part of the Molave Warrior family, and we are happy to see them transitioning to normal life,” Cariño added.
Baptized were the 10-month-old baby and the second child of Albert Yanong alias “Butsoy”, and the two-month-old baby and first child of Ritchell Oray.
Before they surrendered earlier this year, Yanong was a platoon leader of the NPA’s North Negros Front and squad leader of SYP/SDG Platoon while Oray was a finance logistics officer of Squad 1, Platoon 1 of the South West Front.
Yanong thanked the troops for treating them like family and standing as godparents to their children.
Albert Yanong, one of the ex-rebels who baby was sponsored for baptism by the Army, surrendered back in May after spending 11 years in the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104377 |
A 27-year-old man, a New People’s Army (NPA) combatant for 11 years, has voluntarily surrendered to Philippine Army troops in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, the 15th Infantry Battalion (15IB) reported on Friday.
The former rebel, identified as Albert Yanong Alon, alias “Butsoy”, was a platoon leader of the North Negros Front (NNF) and a squad leader of SYP/SDG Platoon of the southwest Front (SWF), operating in the area of Barangay Sangke in his hometown of Hinoba-an.
With 11 years in the NPA Albert's faith in the Catholic Church surely does not run too deep. How will the Army adequately fulfill the role of Godfather to these two infants? A Godparent is supposed to ensure the child grows up acquiring a religious education. How will the Army do that? It seems like a mockery of the whole rite.
However it works out a baptism with water is certainly better than a baptism by fire.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122491 |
The active involvement of parents in the communist rebel movement can be a factor for their children's susceptibility to recruitment by the New People’s Army (NPA).This was the case of Christian Montenegro Arreza, a young NPA combatant captured by the Army's 36th Infantry Battalion in an encounter in Surigao del Sur in May this year.Arreza, together with another NPA surrenderer Cheryl Dalaguan, voluntarily appeared during the virtual press conference on former child warriors Thursday afternoon hosted by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the 401st Infantry Brigade (401Bde).“I was recruited when I was at the young age of 17 in our village in Surigao del Sur. My father and mother were active members and supporters of the communist movement in our area,” Arreza said in the dialect.The active members of the movement, even the NPA's regular fighters, frequented not only their village but also their home as his parents welcomed them.Eventually, he said, the regular members became his acquaintances who recruited him to join the NPA.“I was in the movement for more than three years serving as a political guide until I was captured by the Army last May 2020,” said Arreza, who is now 20-years-old.
The NPA is notorious for using child warriors in their operations. Recently papers were discovered detailing how this recruitment works as well as extortion efforts in Leyte.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122178 |
The recent recovery of documents from the house of a suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) in an upland village in Carigara, Leyte has exposed the group’s activities to recruit minors, and extort money and food supplies from local government officials, businesses, and farmers.
The documents, posted online by the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade on Wednesday, show a handwritten report of an NPA member listing their sources of financial support. These include a major resort hotel and two big construction firms based in Ormoc City, Leyte.
Also listed are the internal revenue allotment of some remote villages in Carigara, Leyte, and "solicitation" to six mayors in Leyte province, which was not indicated in what way it was carried out.
“In the past, we heard a lot of hearsays about sources of NPA extortion funds, but it is only now that we got tangible evidence. A former rebel who surrendered to the military verified that these documents were written by one of their commanders,” said Capt. Karahudin Adil, the spokesperson of the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade.
Soldiers turned over these documents to the Philippine National Police as evidence for filing of possible charges against local officials tagged as sources of extortion money.
The handwritten documents also confirm the rebels’ goal to recruit 15- to 17-year-old members from remote communities in Leyte to compose the NPA’s young communist league.
“These documents reaffirm that the NPA has been recruiting minors in Leyte. Recently, we also found textbooks on revolutionary underground mass movement and bomb-making manual meant for young recruits,” Adil added.
Soldiers recovered the documents on Nov. 13 from the house of suspected NPA members Edencio and his wife Nora Dionaldo.
Government troops also rescued the couple’s seven children, including five minors, and recovered war materiel from the house.
Some of those documents can be viewed on the 802nd ID's Facebook page. Hopefully those who are named as having paid NPA extortion fees will face raps. The NPA is very active in Leyte. The AFP is trying to hold them back from regaining former strongholds in the region.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122290 |
The Philippine Army is deploying more soldiers in remote communities to block the campaign of the New People’s Army (NPA) to recover former strongholds in Carigara, Leyte.
Lt. Col. Roberto Beatisula, commander of the Army’s 93rd Infantry Battalion, said they were acting on reports of civilians on sightings of armed men in remote areas.
"NPA members have moved to the mountains of Carigara after we cleared their infiltrated areas in Ormoc City and Kananga, Leyte. We are optimistic to clear Carigara villages before the year ends," Beatisula said in a phone interview late Wednesday.
To achieve their goal, the military asked village officials to make their local task forces on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) functional and provide information on the whereabouts of rebels.
With the recovery of those papers it seems the NPA is on the up-and-up in Leyte. Never forget that Leyte was declared insurgent free in 2011.
“The AFP through the IPSP Bayanihan liberated 23 provinces from the CPP-NPA-NDF influence, with their internal security operations turned over to their respective local government units,” the military said.
The provinces are Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Biliran, Cebu, Bohol, Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato, La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Cavite, Marinduque, Romblon, Guimaras, Siquijor and Leyte and Southern Leyte.
“We can’t say there’s zero presence but we can say that it is no longer significant,” Burgos said.
Only “less than 5,000” NPA rebels remain in the countryside waging their decadeslong revolution, he said.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/09/martial-law-insurgent-free.html
Maybe the AFP will clear the area of NPA rebels but history is not on their side.
Speaking of history two men are the first to be charged under the new Anti-Terror Law.
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| https://www.rappler.com/nation/aetas-zambales-accused-shooting-soldiers-jailed-first-case-anti-terrorism-law-november-2020 |
Japer Gurung and Junior Ramos were charged with terrorism on September 14 before an Olongapo City court, the charge sheet showed. The charge sheet was contained in a manifestation filed by the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 18.
Gurung and Ramos are still detained, according to NUPL president Edre Olalia. Terrorism under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 11479 is non-bailable.
Olalia said Gurung and Ramos were also charged separately with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, which is also non-bailable.
Gurung and Ramos were charged under Section 4(a) of RA 11479 which punishes a person who "engages in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, or endangers a person's life."
Based on the charge sheet, signed by Associate Provincial Prosecutor Ritchie John Distor Bolaño, the two Aetas are also accused under other provisions of RA 11479 like causing intimidation to the general public, spreading a message of fear, and seriously undermining public safety.
Gurung and Ramos were accused of firing at members of the 73rd Infantry Division on August 21, resulting in the death of Sergeant Rudil Dilao.
The NUPL said the soldiers planted guns and explosives on the two Aetas.
"(They were) evacuating due to intense military operations and continued bombings in their ancestral lands. They were accosted by elements of the 73rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, firearms and explosives planted on them, and falsely accused of being members of the New People’s Army (NPA)," the NUPL said in its manifestation to the Supreme Court.
"Some of the victims were tortured, fed with human feces, and were later charged with violation of Section 4(a) of RA 11479, among other crimes," the manifestation said.
Olalia said that two other female Aetas were charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives and are also still detained.
"The available facts and circumstances we received so far from our colleagues in NUPL-Central Luzon indicate that the charges were a way of reprisal against unarmed civilians (indigenous people) for the death of a soldier in an alleged encounter with the NPAs in the area," Olalia said.
A legal action team that will add teeth to the government’s campaign against the Communist Party of the Philippines -New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) has been formed in Western Visayas.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, Maj. Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) of the Philippine Army (PA), said the “Joint Focused Legal Action Team (JFLAT)” has been formed by the Legal Cooperation and Peace, Law Enforcement and Development Support (PLEDS) Clusters of the Regional Task Force in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict 6 (RTF-ELCAC 6).
He said the JFLAT Team has gathered 124 judicial affidavits of former rebels from Western Visayas composed of 53 from Capiz; 21 from Antique; five from Iloilo; and 45 from Negros Occidental.
“Same will be used for our legal offensives against the CTGs (communist terrorist groups). It has been our experience that we are not pursuing the NPAs legally. With JFLAT, we shall be able to take our positions even in court,” he said.
Pancito believed that the presence of the team will “surely hasten our anti-insurgency efforts particularly on legal aspect”.
“This will likewise help sustain our gains now that the law enforcement agencies together with the Legal Cooperation Cluster are in full force in defeating the CTGs,” he said.
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