Insurgency: Clashes

The AFP is fond of saying that the NPA is leaderless and incapable of carrying out operations. Yet this week there have been several clashed between the NPA and the troops. First there were clashes in Cagayan and Kalinga.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1765156/3-alleged-npa-rebels-slain-in-cagayan-kalinga-clashes

Government troops killed three alleged members of the communist New People’s Army in separate encounters in Cagayan and Kalinga provinces, the military said on Friday, May 5.

Army Major Rigor Pamittan, 5th Infantry Division spokesperson and division public affairs chief, said two of the rebels were killed on Wednesday in a firefight with Army soldiers in Cagayan.

One of the fatalities was identified only as “Morga,” a former student of a public university in Metro Manila.

Pamittan said the suspected communist rebels belonged to the NPA’s Isabela Provincial Committee and Cagayan Valley Regional Committee.

In Kalinga, an alleged member of the Larangang Guerilla Baggas, Ilocos Cordillera Regional Committee, was killed and an M-16 Armalite rifle was recovered at the clash site.

Government troops also recovered guns, ammunition, and war materiel from the clash sites the day after.

There was also a clash between the NPA and the AFP in Negros. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1200777

A New People’s Army (NPA) fighter died while two soldiers and a civilian were wounded in renewed clashes between communist rebels and troops of the Philippine Army at the hinterlands of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday afternoon.

The encounter, which transpired in Sitio Paloypoy at 4:55 p.m., displaced about 65 families in Barangay Buenavista, who sought shelter in the covered court of neighboring Barangay Hilamonan, Kabankalan City.

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said on Thursday that soldiers of the 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) engaged about 15 communist rebels in a 20-minute firefight.

The unidentified male fatality, whose body was brought to the La Funeraria Soledad in Himamaylan, is the latest casualty in the series of encounters in central and southern Negros since last month.

In a radio interview, Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commander of 94IB, said the two soldiers, who are being treated at a hospital, are in stable condition.

The resident who was hit by a stray bullet was also brought by the troops to a hospital, he added.

Almonte said his men recovered a high-powered firearm, ammunition for various firearms, personal belongings, and subversive documents.

There was also a clash in Butuan which resulted in the seizure of fire arms. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1200772

Government troops have seized three high-powered firearms following an encounter with New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents in Barangay Bugsukan here, the Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion (IB) reported Thursday.

In a statement, the 29IB said the gun battle transpired Wednesday after concerned residents informed the military of the NPA's presence in the area, saying the rebels were extorting foodstuffs and supplies.

“The residents complained of fear as the rebels subjected them to harassment and intimidation,” the 29IB said.

Troopers sent to the area encountered in the periphery of Sitio Tubuhan at least 10 armed NPA rebels, led by a certain Arnel Banguis.

The rebels, operating under the weakened Guerrilla Front 21 of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee, engaged with the 29IB troops in a 40-minute clash, the 29IB said.

After the rebels withdrew from their position, soldiers recovered from the site two AK-47 rifles, an M16 rifle, assorted ammunition, magazines, foodstuff, personal belongings, and subversive documents.

“We launched the combat operation in swift response to the information given by the concerned residents in the area,” said Lt. Col. Cresencio Gargar, the 29IB commander.

The AFP has been lauded for a successful operation in N. Samar which resulted in the death of 7 NPA fighters.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1200537

The Northern Samar provincial government has lauded the Philippine Army for its successful operation that left seven New People’s Army (NPA) combatants killed on the outskirts of Bobon, Northern Samar on Sunday.

Governor Edwin Ongchuan, chair of the provincial task force to end local communist armed conflict, said in a statement Tuesday the victory is proof of the government’s commitment to pursue peace in the province.

“Our government troops deserve our highest recognition for successfully defending our people from communists who continued in their harassment and extortion activities. While we believe peace can be achieved through the whole-of-nation approach, combating with stubborn communist terrorist group forces is only possible through a strong Philippine Army, which they have effectively delivered,” Ongchuan said.

On April 30, at least seven NPA members were killed during an encounter with soldiers in upland Santander village in Bobon town.

Troops from the Army’s 803rd Infantry Brigade had an armed encounter with 40 rebels following a tip from residents of sightings of armed men on the outskirts of their village.

The armed rebels belong to the subregional guerrilla unit and remnants of the dismantled front committee-2, subregional committee emporium of the NPA Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee led by Mario Sevillano.

Sevillano is a notorious rebel leader who perpetrated numerous atrocities in Northern Samar province.

Soldiers called for close air and artillery support from the Philippine Air Force since the NPA lair was heavily fortified and surrounded by prohibited anti-personnel mines.

Some of the rebels they encountered were remnants of a dismantled front? Seems like they aren't actually dismantled. Either way they are still capable of deadly and dangerous operations contrary to what the AFP has been saying. Elsewhere in N. Samar the AFP recovered an arms cache.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1200638

An arms cache reportedly owned and buried by members of the New People’s Army was discovered Tuesday in the upland Magsaysay village in Mapanas, Northern Samar.

Acting on tips from villagers, troops from the Army’s 74th Infantry Battalion found the buried six anti-personnel mines, a homemade shotgun, and an AK47 rifle with a magazine loaded with ammunition.

“The discovery of the arms cache especially the anti-personnel mines is proof that the communist terrorist group is still blatantly violating the Law of Armed Conflict and the International Humanitarian Law,” the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division said in a statement on Wednesday.

The use of anti-personnel mines has long been banned since the 1997 Ottawa Convention, an understanding among nations against the use of mines as weapons in warfare because it can cause superfluous injury and has psychological effects on the victims.

The military said that banned explosives have also been used by rebels to fortify their lairs in the mountains of Northern Samar.

So the NPA is still very active despite the AFP's assertions to the contrary. 

The PNP is doing their part to end the insurgency. PRO-13 nabbed 256 rebels in the first quarter of 2023. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/5/pro-13-nets-256-npa-rebels-in-first-quarter

The Police Regional Office-13 reported on Friday, May 5, that the counter-insurgency campaign and peace and development program in the Caraga region are gaining headway with the arrest and surrender of 256 New People’s Army rebels  from January 1 to March 31 this year.

PRO-13 Director Police Brig. Gen. Pablo G. Labra II, citing records from the PRO-13 Regional Operations Division (ROD), said

63 of them were apprehended in manhunt operations for various crimes.

Among those nabbed were high-ranking officials of the Guerrilla Front Committee 4-B of the Northcentral Mindanao Regional Command considered as regional Top 1 most wanted person (MWP), regional Top 2 MWP, and regional Top 3 MWP, for multiple attempted murders.

Labra said 193 others surrendered and the PRO-13 helped them avail of benefits under the government’s Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

Police recovered 113 firearms and 73 explosive devices from the arrested rebels and surrenderers.

According to Labra, these accomplishments weakened the Guerrilla Front 19 (WGF19) Sub-Regional Committee Southland of the CPP-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee, which was once notorious for recruiting indigenous people and minors in Caraga.

Labra said the campaign to end the armed struggle in the Caraga is gaining ground because of these achievements.

“We are already strategically winning in our counter-insurgency campaign and our peace and development program,” Labra said.

“The collapse of CTG creates a window for us to proclaim that our collective efforts against terrorism become successful in Caraga region,” he added.

The PNP claims they have won a strategic victory. That may or may not be true. What is true is that the NPA remains a deadly threat.