As I have noted before the war against the insurgency resets every six years when a new president takes office. After inauguration the insurgency becomes the matter of the new president. This includes its failures and successes. Every win and every loss for the next six years becomes part and parcel of the new exectuives legacy. The Marcos presidency is not any different.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192359 |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it performed well in the campaign against communist insurgency during the first six months of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s administration.
"Our campaign against insurgency went well. A lot of their guerrilla fronts have melted and their active strength is down to more or less 2,000 fighters," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said in a Laging Handa briefing, when asked for an assessment of the military's internal security campaign.
The AFP earlier said that 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.
As for the mass organizations set up by the New People's Army (NPA) and its allies, Aguilar said a lot of its members are being recovered and have returned to the fold of the law.
"This means we are gaining headway in our campaign against communist insurgency," he added.
Medel said they are hoping to conduct more aggressive conduct of localized peace initiatives as NPA ranks continue to crumble following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison and the neutralization of its key leaders.
In operations against so-called local terrorist groups, Aguilar said the AFP has so far neutralized 50 personalities and seized more than 50 high-powered firearms.
He attributed this to the success of their security "template" which was further highlighted by the surrender of local terrorist group members in Mindanao.
The AFP claims there are about 24 or 23 NPA fronts left but only 5 are "active or capable of conducting any actions." National Security Advisor Clarita Carlos says those fronts are on schedule to be defeated within the first quarter of 2023.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/857141/nsa-carlos-5-remaining-guerrilla-fronts-to-be-decimated-by-1st-quarter-of-2023/story/ |
National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos has said the remaining five guerrilla fronts in the country are expected to be decimated by the first quarter of 2023, according to the National Security Council (NSC).
In a statement Thursday, the NSC said Carlos made the pronouncement during the presentation of the year-end accomplishment reports by the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in Malacañang.
“She said despite various logistical challenges, only five guerrilla fronts remain and are expected to be decimated by the first quarter of 2023,” it said.
Carlos pointed out the importance of continuing the momentum of the NTF-ELCAC to end the insurgency.
According to NSC, Carlos ordered the NTF-ELCAC to complement its Road Map with an implementation plan to dismantle all guerilla fronts within 2023.
It appears Carlos is saying the NTF-ELCAC will be the ones to dismantle these guerrilla fronts. Even if they get all the credit it will undoubtedly be the AFP which does all the work. That includes fighting any remaining NPA units and even killing their members.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192478 |
The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebel who was killed in an encounter with government troops in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental was identified as a guerrilla front leader, Army and police sources said Wednesday.
Orlando Fat, alias Banban, was the lone casualty during a five-minute firefight between his group of five NPA rebels and soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) early Tuesday in Sitio Banderahan, Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City.
Fat, who hails from the sub-village of Banderahan, is the political instructor of Section Guerrilla Unit 3 of the NPA’s Central Negros Front 1, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR-NCBS), that operates in the tri-boundaries of Guihulngan City, Canlaon City, both of Negros Oriental and Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, the 62IB said.
Lt. Col. Romeo Cubo, Guihulngan City police chief, told the Philippine News Agency that they have informed the barangay captain of Trinidad to locate Fat’s next of kin so they can claim his body.
“After the retrieval operations yesterday afternoon, the body of Orlando Fat was brought to the funeral parlor where he will lie in wake for three days. We hope that the family will claim the body, otherwise, he will have to be buried based on a local policy here,” Cubo said in mixed English and Cebuano.
Government troops also recovered from the encounter site one .45-caliber pistol with two magazines and five live rounds of ammunition; one 40mm grenade launcher; three empty steel magazines (short) for M16 Rifle; one empty plastic magazine (short) for M16 Rifle; one magazine pouch and one holster for .45-caliber pistol; personal belongings; and “subversive documents”.
Lt. Col. William Pesase, 62IB commanding officer, in an interview said the death of Fat is a "huge blow to the NPA considering that he is a political figure".
The death of this one man is a "huge blow" to the NPA? How many huge blows does the NPA have to take before it crumbles? Perhaps this is one of the major setbacks the AFP claims the NPA has already faced this year.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192381 |
The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Tuesday said the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the Visayas has suffered a series of setbacks at the start of this year owing to the neutralization of five members and confiscation of 13 firearms in 10-day military operations.
Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Viscom acting commander, urged the few remaining fighters who are still in the mountains to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.
“These series of debacles suffered by the CPP-NPA manifest your soldier’s utmost dedication and steadfast commitment to defeat the CPP-NPA and swiftly serve justice to those whom they terrorized,” Arevalo said in a statement.
He said the "long arms of justice will eventually catch up with you. We will never stop, and we will never falter in our commitment to win the peace for the people in the Visayas. Lay down your arms now and return to the folds of the law while you still can.”
According to Viscom, the military and law enforcement operations from Jan. 1-10 resulted in the death of two CPP-NPA members.
On Tuesday, another fighter died in a five-minute shootout between members of the Philippine Army's 62nd Infantry Battalion and NPA terrorists under Central Negros 1 (CN1) of the Komiteng Rehiyon Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR NCBS) in Sitio Banderahan, Barangay Trinidad in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental province.
A .45-caliber pistol was recovered in the possession of the neutralized rebel.
On Monday, another NPA member died in an encounter with the members of the 94th Infantry Battalion and 2nd Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company (NOCPMFC) in Sitio Maliko-liko, Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental.
He was a member of Central Negros 2 (CN2) of the KR NCBS.
Government troops recovered several war materiel during the said encounter including an M14, an M79 grenade launcher and two M16 rifles, among others, along with an NPA flag, personal belongings, and several subversive documents.
Meanwhile, three other NPA members were neutralized through a joint law enforcement operation launched by the 79th Infantry Battalion, Special Action Battalion-6, and Regional Mobile Force Battalion-6 at Barangay Cambayobo, Calatrava in Negros Occidental on Jan. 6.
Viscom said they are remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF) under Komiteng Rehiyon Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR NCBS).
Isn't interesting that remnants of a dismantled NPA front engaged the NPA in a firefight regrouped under another front? What good is it to declare a front dismantled if its members are still active albeit under a different name?
Arms were recovered after these fights as is typical. Last week arms were recovered from an abandoned cache in Leyte.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192290 |
“The NPA buried the firearms because of their inability to recruit and recover former mass bases to fill in their ranks,” Dela Rosa said in a statement on Monday.
This story had already been reported on and the reason given why these weapon were stashed was:
“I think the firearms have been buried for about two years. The rebels have been hiding from government forces and they left these firearms since they could not carry it anymore,” Vestuir said in a phone interview.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2023/01/insurgency-dying-movement.html
See how the story changes so dramatically? One week the weapons are buried for two years because the rebels could not carry them and the next week the weapons are buried because they can't recruit. This new story is clearly propaganda. Or maybe their knowledge is evolving? Whatever the case this new story did not issue a correction.
Another arms cache was discovered in Nueva Ecija after an NPA fighter surrendered.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192603 |
A former member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) has surrendered to authorities here on Wednesday.
In his report on Thursday, Col. Richard V. Caballero, acting provincial director of the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office (NEPPO), said alias "Ka Nestor/Noli," who was a former member of the CPP-NPA under Komiteng Larangang Gerilya Sierra Madre, submitted himself to the authorities and yielded one homemade .22-caliber Magnum, with magazine and ammunition.
Caballero said personnel of the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC-NEPPO), in collaboration with other government troops in the province, facilitated the former rebel's return to the fold of the law.
He said "Ka Nestor", together with the surrendered items, is now under the custody of 1st PMFC-NEPPO for documentation and proper disposition.
The article says he yielded a home made 22 magnum while the caption to the article calls it a homemade submachine gun.
The 9ID is being reminded by its leader to sustain the gains against the insurgency.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192252 |
Philippine Army (PA) commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. ordered newly-appointed 9th Infantry Division (9ID) chief Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao to sustain the unit's operations and gains against the communist insurgents in its areas of operation.
On Sunday, Bajao formally assumed command of the Camarines Sur-based 9th Infantry Division.
"Lt. Gen. Brawner, in his keynote speech, called on Spear troopers (nickname of the 9th Infantry Division) now led by Maj. Gen. Bajao, to sustain their gains against the communist terrorist group (New People's Army insurgents) in the 9ID area of operations in the Bicol region and parts of Mindanao" PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Monday.
The PA chief also said that by acting cohesively and as one, the military could better serve the country.
"Together, when we act as one, we can better serve our country,” said Brawner during the ceremony," he added.
"Sustain the gains" is the mantra of practically every new appointee. Sustaining the gains, especially in Mindanao, is not going to be easy when there are groups who insist on continuing their fight.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1716322/cops-probing-possible-links-of-arrested-indonesian-2-pinoys-to-mindanao-terror-groups |
The police in the Soccsksargen region are investigating the possible links of an Indonesian and two Filipinos who were arrested last week in Sarangani province and now face criminal charges for trying to smuggle high-powered firearms.
Police Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, Police Regional Office -12 director, said the police would be looking into the possible involvement of the foreign national in smuggling firearms into the region.
The three suspects were identified as 29-year-old Anton Gobay, an Indonesian, and his Filipino companions Michael Tino, 25, of Barangay Malalag in Maitum, Sarangani, and Jimmy Abolde, 52, of Purok Zoneza Saway, Barangay Labangal in General Santos City.
They were arrested at a checkpoint in Barangay Nalus of Kiamba town on Jan. 7.
Macaraeg said they are also looking into a possible link between Gobay and his two companions with three allied terrorist groups in Central Mindanao, the Al-Khobar, the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), all known to have links with foreign terror groups.
Operatives led by Captain Ralph Marvin Rivera of the first platoon, 1204th Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) in Region 12, flagged down a tricycle with three men on board and saw suspicious trolley bags aboard.
Upon questioning, the police team observed that Gobay became uneasy. The team discovered they were transporting 10 units of Colt AR-19 9mm para rifle, 20 pieces of steel magazines and 10 pieces of detachable rifle butts, Macaraeg said.
It is no secret that Indonesian terror groups do have links with groups in the Philippines. Hopefully these links will be severed and bloodshed averted.
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