The newly installed Nolcom Chief has vowed to end the insurgency in northern and central Luzon.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1721195/new-nolcom-chief-vows-to-end-insurgency-in-northern-central-luzon |
Major Gen. Fernyl Buca on Wednesday (Jan. 25) assumed his post as chief of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines based in Camp Aquino in Tarlac City.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino installed Buca, who replaced Lt. Gen. Ernesto Torres Jr. upon the latter’s mandatory retirement at age 56.
Buca was a former AFP deputy chief of staff for logistics and Philippine Air Force inspector general, according to a Nolcom statement.
In a program following the change of command, Buca vowed to “vigorously sustain the momentum set [by Torres] to decimate the remaining communist terrorists and ensure the peace, security, and development in the north and central Luzon.”
Of course every single newly installed General makes the same vow. It's a tired old song. Not only that but the AFP has already declared a strategic victory against the CPP-NPA and for the past few months they have been repeating the mantra that the CPP-NPA is leaderless. Would that not effectively mean they have been defeated?
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193541 |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Visayas Command (Viscom) on Wednesday said the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) is now suffering a leadership vacuum after losing several key personalities in a series of encounters with government troops.
Major General Benedict Arevalo, Viscom chief, said the communist terrorist groups in the Visayas are losing their hold as their armed capability has “drastically degraded” apart from also losing their leaders.
“These are apart from the increasing number of former CTG supporters and sympathizers in the region who withdrew their support from the terrorist group,” Arevalo said.
The Viscom chief expressed hope the group would totally weaken should more CPP-NPA officials, especially those from Eastern Visayas, fall to the government.
It's not only the Eastern Visayas where a leadership vacuum has been proclaimed. It is the entire movement nationwide.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193295 |
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it continues to beef up the anti-insurgency campaign as New People's Army (NPA) ranks continue to crumble following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison.
“As of now, based on the information we have gathered, there was a bit of a breakdown of communication among the CPP-NPA members because they could not yet figure out who would replace the position vacated by Siso)," PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said in a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Sison died on Dec. 16, 2022 while in exile in The Netherlands where he had been staying for decades. He was 83.
Ranking communist leaders, couple Benito and William Tiamzon, who are purportedly next in line, were reported to have been killed in a clash with soldiers in Catbalogan City.
“Tiamzon will be taking over but Tiamzon is missing so as of now it is not clear who the leadership will be and the PNP and the AFP are taking advantage of the situation because we wanted more and more people to gradually return to our government on the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that is the unity. So this is an opportunity for the government to take advantage in the ongoing struggle who will take over the seat of power of the CPP-NPA if any,” Azurin said.
Defense and security experts said Sison’s death was a severe blow to the CPP-NPA since there are no other leaders who have his charisma.
The national government, through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, has been pursuing localized peace talks with the communist rebels.
The move reportedly led to the surrender of hundreds of CPP-NPA fighters and supporters in the past few years.
The AFP earlier said out of the 89 guerrilla fronts recorded in 2016, only 24 or 23 are left with only five remaining active or capable of conducting any actions.
If the CPP-NPA is leaderless, irrelevant, and strategically defeated (all claims made by the AFP) then who is directing the recruitment efforts?
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193582 |
The 91st Infantry Battalion (91IB) of the Philippine Army on Wednesday urged the youth not to be swayed by the false ideologies of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army–National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
Lt. Col. Julito Recto Jr., commander of the 91IB, made the call as he noted of the recruitment by the communist terrorist organization among the youth since they are easy targets.
Recto said the communist terrorist organization is taking advantage of the youth’s vulnerability in coaxing them to join their organization.
“The youth are very vulnerable to false ideologies. Their innocence was being utilized by the armed group in the guise of development and reform yet the real agenda is to destroy the image of the government,” Recto said in an interview.
To counter the rebels’ recruitment efforts, Recto said they are continuously conducting school awareness campaigns against the communist terrorist group.
Who is directing the engagements with the AFP? Who is directing what the NPA does from day to day? Why have they not all surrendered if they are leaderless?
The AFP claims that there have been so many surrendering NPAs that they have not had to use many bullets. Also they claim that they have better bullet control. That means less ammo has been used and more is sitting on the shelf waiting to expire.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193294 |
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Monday said they are looking at the possibility of extending the shelf life or recycling ammunition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) nearing its expiration date or wastage.
In an ambush interview with reporters at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, he said they have an authorized wastage level when it comes to ammunition stocks.
He added that this is due to the running down of shelf life which means that ammunition at this point can no longer be safely used.
Galvez attributed the slowdown of the military in its usage of ammunition to its adoption of non-lethal strategies in dealing with communist insurgents and other threats.
One of these successful non-lethal methods is the use of the civil-military operations which have become very effective in neutralizing these threats, he added.
Another factor is that military personnel have also grown more skillful and diligent in the use of ammunition issued to them.
"We saw that our ammunition consumption when down because our people have gotten more expert and diligent in the use of ammo," Galvez said.
He also attributed the low usage of ammunition to the fact that the peace process is working and the AFP is able to sustain it.
He was also pleased to note that no major confrontation or conflict have taken place in Mindanao so far and in other areas.
"And it's a good indication that really we are winning the war against our communist insurgency and we are now seeing peace inclined organizations are really now going with us and also joining us in the government," Galvez said.
He said with the shelf life of the ammunition nearing, the first option is always to destroy it to avoid harming anyone.
However, he said they are looking at the possibility of recycling these as training ammunition or extending their shelf life like what was done with the Covid-19 vaccines during his time as vaccine czar of the Duterte administration.
"Because of Covid-19, we saw that how very thin in the ground our resources and we would like to encourage our Defense Department together with the AFP on how to really optimize our resources, both our logistics and financial, that's my guidance," he added.
Remember in 2018 when they were running out of ammo and had nothing in reserve for emergencies? How the times have changed!
Speaking of ammo, the AFP says the discovery of a weapons cache in Samar has weakened the insurgency.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193327 |
The Philippine Army said the recent discovery of several high-powered firearms in Paranas town, Samar province will further weaken insurgency in the province.
Major Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the 8th Infantry Division (8ID), said Monday that former rebels have been instrumental in locating the firearms in Samar buried by rebels since they cannot carry them after the surrender of several combatants.
“The NPA Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) is on the brink of collapse with the gradual surrender of their leaders and key personalities revealing the location of these hidden firearms,” Ligayo said in a statement.
The official made the statement after the military found buried firearms in upland Santo Niño village in Paranas on Jan. 18. Seized were two M653 rifles, an M4 Rifle, an M16 Rifle, four long magazines, and a short magazine.
“The intensified campaign of the regional task force on ending local communist armed conflict and with the aid of former rebels, it is only a matter of time before we declare them dismantled and the rest of Eastern Visayas free from insurgency,” Ligayo added.
The official urged the owners of these recovered firearms to surrender and avail of the benefits being offered by the government to rebel returnees, including the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
Government forces found the hidden firearms a day after the surrender of 13 members of the New People’s Army, including their leaders in Samar province.
The surrenderers belong to the NPA EVRPC sub-regional committee Bugsok Platoon during a press briefing at the 8th Infantry Division headquarters in this city.
The rebels handed over 10 M16 rifles, two .45-caliber handguns, and one Glock 17 pistol. They also revealed the location of banned anti-personnel mines, medical paraphernalia, and several ammunitions.
The discovery of four rifles will further weaken the insurgency? Not more than the surrender of leaders and the turning over of 10 rifles as well as revealing the location of anti-personnel mines.
The fight against the NPA also includes the courts and one Army official wants air tight cases against them.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1193587 |
A Philippine Army brigade commander in Negros Oriental on Wednesday called for the strengthening of the provincial anti-insurgency task force’s legal fight against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Brig. Gen. Leonardo Peña, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, made the call after some captured CPP-NPA members were released following the dismissal of their cases due to technicalities.
“Due to lack of legal advice and support, what happens is that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel are the ones carrying the problems in the legal fight. There should be a whole-of-government approach by empowering our legal cooperation cluster,” Peña said in mixed English and Filipino.
The legal cooperation is one of 12 clusters of the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC), chaired by Governor Roel Degamo at the provincial level.
The cluster head is the Provincial Prosecutor's Office.
“One of the problems that we have encountered in the ELCAC is that when a CPP-NPA member is arrested, we do not have a strong legal cluster to depend on,” he said.
In a reorganization meeting on Tuesday, the Army commander sought the unwavering support and cooperation of the task force members to sustain the fight against the CPP-NPA.
If this is not achieved, there is always the risk of the rebel fronts regaining their strongholds and getting back their mass base support, he added.
In response, Degamo said he would source funds for lawyers who will assist the TF-ELCAC to ensure air-tight cases against CPP-NPA personalities and to cover legal fees.
Is the AFP really worried about rebel fronts regaining strongholds? I thought they were leaderless, irrelevant, and strategically defeated? Will the AFP ever be able to settle on a single narrative?
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