Insurgency: COVID-19 Slows Down NPA Recruitment

Last week I noted that the AFP is stepping up operations against the NPA in Central Visayas. This week the AFP confirmed that fact by declaring they will bring an end to the insurgency in Negros Oriental by the end of the first quarter of 2023. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194647

The Philippine Army targets to end the communist insurgency in Negros Oriental as early as the first quarter of this year with sustained operations.

Brig. Gen. Leonardo Peña, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Tanjay City, told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday that continuous combat and non-combat operations in the province and in Negros Occidental will reduce the fighting capabilities of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

“Actually, our objective at the brigade is to completely flush out the ranks of the NPA or reduce it to the lowest, insignificant level, or in a state where they can no longer fight the government forces,” Peña said in mixed English and Filipino.

“That is why we have intensified our combat operations to track these NPA rebels down and ensure that they can no longer regain their strongholds and build up their mass base,” he added.

Peña said the recent encounters between the NPA and government forces on Negros Island are the result of the civilian populace’s cooperation with their anti-insurgency efforts.

Peña said Executive Order (EO) No. 70 of former president Rodrigo Duterte is now seeing gains in this Central Visayas province, the only one among four provinces in Region 7 (Central Visayas) that is still dealing with insurgency.

“We intend to make Negros Oriental insurgency-free, just like Bohol, and we need the cooperation of government agencies, local government units, local chief executives, and various stakeholders for us to achieve this goal,” he added.

Insurgency free like Bohol? Last December the AFP engaged with the NPA in Bohol.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1709981/npa-rebels-military-troops-clash-in-bohol

A gunfight ensued between suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and government troopers in Bohol province in San Isidro town on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Soldiers clashed with at least 10 “remnants” of NPA’s Bohol Party Committee, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor, according to a report from the 47th “Katapatan” Infantry Battalion (IB).

San Isidro, 32 km from the capital city of Tagbilaran, has at least 9,000 residents.

In a statement, the 47th IB said residents of Sitio Bajong, Barangay Baunos, San Isidro informed soldiers about the presence of communist rebels who were allegedly extorting money from them.

The troops responded, resulting in an encounter at around10 a.m. The firefight lasted for about 10 minutes.

No fatalities were reported.

Recovered in the encounter site were different ammunition, tents, food packs, personal belongings, and subversive documents.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to put an end to the local communist armed conflict and stop their recovery efforts in Bohol Island, the residents’ willingness to assist the soldiers by providing noteworthy information on the whereabouts and activities of these NPA terrorists is extremely helpful,” said Lt. Col. Allyson Depayso, the commanding officer of the 47th IB.

Depayso assured the people that the Army in Bohol will continue to battle the NPAs to uphold a just and lasting peace on the island.

Bohol is not insurgency free meaning there are no insurgents. The standard for declaring an area insurgency free seems to fluctuate from their being no reported sightings of NPA to no terrorist activities. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1726925/2-quezon-island-towns-now-insurgency-free-says-police

Two island towns in Quezon province have been declared free from the clutches of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, the provincial police reported in a press release issued Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Colonel Ledon Monte, Quezon police chief, said representatives from the police, military and the local government of the island town of Quezon led by Mayor Juan Escalona signed on Feb. 7 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that declared the municipality “insurgency-free.”

On Feb. 6, government representatives and Perez town Mayor Charizze Marie Escalona also signed an MOU that declared the locality NPA-free.

Monte said the declaration meant that local government projects and programs “have reached the phase ready for investment and development having zero incidents of terroristic activities (by the NPA).”

“It meets the set of parameters to be declared as an insurgency-free municipality,” Monte explained.

In January, Gumaca was also declared free from the influence of the Maoist guerrillas.

On Dec. 13 last year, Macalelon town in the Bondoc Peninsula became the first NPA-free locality in the province. The Bondoc Peninsula is a known former NPA bailiwick in the Southern Tagalog region.

“We are now witnessing history. Four municipalities in the province were declared insurgency-free,” Monte said.

Yeah sure.  They are "witnessing history" as these places are "insurgency-free." But it really boils down to what that actually means. If my doctor tells me I am cancer free I expect there to be NO cancer whatsoever in my body but insurgency-free areas in the Philippines are not always 100% insurgency free. 

Unsurprisingly many of the recruits to the NPA are stupid. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194716

The three Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) fighters slain during a clash in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental province on Feb. 5 were deceived to join the armed struggle which they eventually abandoned in their deaths, a Philippine Army official said on Wednesday.

"They were deceptively recruited for the ideology they did not even understand. It paints the true color of the CPP-NPA as an inhumane and heartless terrorist group," Col. Orlando Edralin, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) based in Murcia town just east of this city, said in a statement.

Killed on the second day of the weekend clashes with troops of 94th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Oringao were Jomarie "Junjun/Mark" Callet, 42, of Barangay Tanlad, Tayasan, Negros Oriental; Joemarie Calumba, 40, of Barangay Oringao, Kabankalan City; and Diomedes Lasida, 47, of Barangay Pinggot, Ilog, both in Negros Occidental.

Callet and Lasida were the squad and vice squad leaders, respectively of Sentro De Grabedad Platoon of the NPA's Central Negros 2-Komiteng Rehiyon Negros, while Calumba was a squad member.

Just take a look at that propaganda. The AFP engages the NPA and kills three of them and then declares they were deceptilvhy recruited and did not even understand the ideology of the CPP-NPA! How could they even know such a thing? That bit about them abandoning the armed struggle in their deaths is hilarious but it is 100% propaganda because the never abandoned the cause but actually died for it.

The AFP claims COVID-19 slowed down NPA recruitment but now with movement protocols lifted recruitment could increase.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194856

The Philippine Army on Thursday said recruitment by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) could intensify now that movement restrictions due to the health pandemic have eased up.

Philippine Army Visayas commander, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, said they are now assessing and analyzing the effects of the pandemic in terms of the conduct of recruitment.

"We feel that Covid-19 also was able to slow down their recruitment," he said.

Arevalo said roughly the strength of the CPP-NPA in Panay island is between 200 to 250.

Apart from the pandemic, Arevalo also credited the efforts of the Regional Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in the drop of the CPP-NPA recruitment.

With the slowdown in recruitment, the PA Visayas commander ordered his men to fast-track the neutralization of the armed component of the communist movement.

"Let us not wait for our enemy to die of old age, let us not wait for them to just fade away. We really have to exert pressure on our operations and be able to convince them to go back to the folds of the law if not be captured," he said.

Visayas-wide there are nine guerrilla fronts; four are within the area of responsibility of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), where the 301st Brigade belongs, and five are in the 8th Division in Samar and Leyte provinces, Arevalo added. 

The four guerrilla fronts under the 3ID have been weakened and longer capable of launching camp and detachments attacks. With a strength between 200 to 250, they are into target liquidation and assassination such as in some parts of Negros island, he said.

First of all this is based on a "feeling" which means this is not a fact. The AFP does not know if COVID-19 movement restrictions impeded recruitment or that it will now increase. The movement restrictions have been lifted for over a year and the AFP has never stopped warning about recruitment efforts. Secondly id the NPA is "weakened and longer capable of launching camp and detachments attacks" how will they possibly be able to maintain let alone step up recruitment efforts? 

It also appears the AFP does not know where all MILF camps are located as one detachment accidentally stumbled upon one. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194805

Thirty-nine members of the Army Special Forces (SF) who accidentally entered a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) acknowledge camp in Lanao del Sur province recently were not disarmed, a ceasefire panel member clarified Thursday.

“It appeared the soldiers were unaware they were within the MILF camp in Maguing. The MILF politely requested them to lay down their guns assuring them they will not be harmed and the soldiers agreed,” said Butch Malang, chair of the MILF coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities (CCCH).

On Tuesday, the SF unit unintentionally found its way into the MILF camp in Barangay Dilimbayan in Maguing town, Lanao del Sur. Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces 103rd base command allowed them to stay in the camp overnight.

“The MILF referred the matter to the government-MILF ceasefire panel and the issue was settled following a dialogue,” Malang said referring to the incident.

Malang said the SF unit was allowed to leave the MILF camp Wednesday afternoon “with the government forces shaking hands with MILF fighters like brothers.”

An Army official said the SFs are part of Army units hunting down terrorist groups and remnants of Dawlah Islamiya in Lanao del Sur.

“It has no intention of attacking the MILF location,” said an Army official who requested anonymity, pending the filing of an official CCCH report.

Under the GPH-MILF ceasefire agreement, the movement of government forces near MILF identified camps should be coordinated with the ceasefire committee to prevent unnecessary armed confrontation.

Observers said with cooler heads prevailing, a bloody skirmish was avoided and prevented like the 2015 misencounter in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province that left at least 60 people dead, including policemen, MILF members, and civilians.

So, the AFP is supposed to coordinate troop movement near MILF camps but apparently they did not the location of this particular MILF camp. When confronted by the MILF they were "politely requested to lay down their guns" and the soldiers agreed. This is totally outrageous. How did was the AFP unaware of the location of this particular camp when they are supposed to know the locations of ALL MILF camps? 

The fact that they laid down their weapons when "politely requested" to do so shows they were not in charge. The MILF was in charge. The MILF is a terrorist group which is supposed to be in the process of disarming. But it seems they are not. It seems they still have a standing army of their own. That's because the struggle is not over. 

Remember the leader of the MILF Ebrahim Murad  is on record saying decommissioning does not mean surrender.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1162067/milfs-murad-decommissioning-is-not-surrender

“We have not given up on our struggle.” 

“We are not surrendering. Decommissioning is not tantamount to surrendering,” said Ebrahim, who is also Chief Minister of the interim Bangsamoro government. 

“I would like to emphasize that the decommissioning doesn’t mean we have given up on what we used to fight for,” Ebrahim emphasized.

What the MILF used to fight for, the reason the group broke away from the MNLF, is the formation of an independent Muslim Mindanao. Will they continue to pursue this goal? According to Murad the answer is yes.