Insurgency: End of NPA Central Negros Fronts By Yearend

The Army is confident that the NPA in Central Negros will be defeated by year's end.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203561

The military sees the dismantling of the Central Negros (CN) fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA) by the end of the year, a top Philippine Army official here said on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IB) based in Murcia town, Negros Occidental province, said the CN1, whose fighters were encountered by troops of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Moises Padilla town on Tuesday, now only has nine members.

“We are very optimistic that with the cooperation and assistance of the people and national and local governments, not exceeding the end of the year, we will be declaring CN1 and CN2 as cleared,” he said on the sidelines of the Regional Peace and Order Council-Western Visayas meeting here.

Edralin said the leaders of both Central Negros fronts are “still on the run”, but the death of Rogelio Posadas, secretary of the NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, had left a vacuum.

“That’s why nagkakagulo sila (they are at a loss) because they don’t have a leader to direct them. Their days are numbered that’s why we are asking them to surrender,” he added.

Posadas was killed during a clash with troops of the 94th IB at the boundary of Binalbagan and Isabela towns on April 20.

The AFP is also vowing to defeat the two reamaing active fronts in Samar by the end of this year. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203400

The Catbalogan, Samar-based 8th Infantry Division (8ID) and local front-liners of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will be able to eliminate the two remaining New People's Army (NPA) fronts in its area of operation within this year.

“I am confident that we will finally end this armed conflict by the third quarter of this year, or safe to say by the end of the year,” 8th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo said during the NTF-ELCAC's weekly forum dubbed “Tagged Reloaded: Debunking The Lies By Telling the Truth” on Monday.

Ligayo said this is possible as the 8th Infantry Division and local units of the NTF-ELCAC are closely working to eliminate the two remaining NPA fronts.

The 8ID operates in Samar and other parts of the Eastern Visayas.

By the end of third quarter, he said one of the active fronts will be downgraded to a “weakened” status.

“Pa-konti na ng pa-konti (They are dwindling),” Ligayo said, defining the remaining two NPA fronts, whom he added has no village to turn to, and choose to go deep into the mountain to escape annihilation from intensified focused military operations.

See how he goes from being confident of defating the NPA by the third quarter and then says "by the end of the year?" And what will that even look like?  A total defeat or just less influence?

A whole brigade has been transferred to Samar to make sure this defeat happens.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203415

The Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade (802nd IBde) has been transferred from Leyte province to Eastern Samar to help suppress the insurgency in Samar Island.

The brigade, which was based in Camp Downes in Ormoc City for more than two decades, was officially transferred to Borongan City in Eastern Samar to help meet the target of ending insurgency in Samar provinces within the year.

“We are here to help the campaign of ending the local communist armed conflict in Samar Island,” said Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, the 802nd IBde commander, in a phone interview on Tuesday.

With the addition of the 802nd IBde in Eastern Samar, all three brigades under the 8th Infantry Division are now operating in Samar Island.

Hopefully they actually defeat them.

Quezon province has been declared insurgency free.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1788252/quezon-province-declared-free-of-npa-influence

Once a stronghold of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Southern Tagalog, Quezon province was declared free from the influence of communist insurgents in a ceremony held on Monday.

Local government, police, and military officials said the province had attained “Stable Internal Peace and Security” or a SIPS status, which means the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the NPA no longer posed a threat to local peace and order.

Later in an online interview, Monte clarified that the NPA may still have “possible remnants” in Quezon “but they are no longer capable of initiating terrorist acts [and] they have no more supporters.”

Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan said the next challenge for the local officials would be to preserve the peace and make the residents “feel [this] milestone” through poverty alleviation programs.

The current NPA spokesperson, however, had dismissed the SIPS declarations in a statement issued last month.

According to Ka Cleo del Mundo of the Apolonio Mendoza Command, a unit said to be still operating in Quezon, ending the insurgency would require a peace agreement between the government and CPP-NPA-NDFP.

Oh, excuse me free of insurgency influence. There are still NPA lurking about!

The NPA has been losing its foothold in Caraga and the Army says that is in large part due to the public. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203731

The recent success of the Philippine Army in the Caraga Region in its offensive against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) happened with the full support of the mass base in the area.

This was emphasized by Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, the commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EMC) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in a statement issued on Saturday.

On Friday, three NPA rebels were killed in a strike operation conducted by the 29th Infantry Battalion (29IB) in the vicinity of Mt. Apo-Apo, Sitio Dugyaman, Barangay Anticala, Butuan City.

A total of 15 high-powered firearms, ammunition, a laptop, cellphones, backpacks, and subversive documents were also recovered by the 29IB troopers after the clash.

The recovered firearms consisted of five AK47 rifles, four AR18 rifles, three M4 rifles, two M203 grenade launchers, and one M16 rifle.

Acting on the tip of a civilian who saw about 30 suspected NPA rebels massing up in the area of Mt. Apo-Apo, the 29IB immediately conducted a strike operation that resulted in the armed confrontation.

The rebels were the combined elements of the Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda 21C, Guerilla Front 21, and Platoon Dao, Sub-Regional Sentro de Grabidad Westland, both under the Sub-Regional Committee Westland of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA.

“I commend the cooperation of civilians and the swift action of the troops, which resulted in the successful operation,” Almerol said.

He also expressed optimism that the recent defeat of the NPA rebels would further demoralize the group’s forces in Caraga.

"The series of defeats of the communist terrorist group in Eastern Mindanao, especially in the Caraga Region, proved that the support from their top-to-bottom leadership, including their former mass bases, is already absent,” Almerol said.

The only option for the remaining NPA rebels in the area, he added, is to surrender to escape from the consequences of their anti-people behavior at the hands of the government troops.

The AFP is fond of saying the NPA is being demoralized but they remain as active as ever across the nation. 

The battle against the Muslim insurgency is plodding along just fine.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203570

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the death of the Daesh emir in Southeast Asia, Abu Zacharia, and another cohort during two operations in Marawi City has further weakened the capability of the terrorist group to wreak havoc in the country.

"The death of Faharudin Hadji Benito Satar, a.k.a. Abu Zacharia, the so-called emir of Daesh in Southeast Asia, and Joharie Sandab, a.k.a. Morsid, DI (Daulah Islamiya)-Philippines sub-leader for finance and logistics, in armed skirmishes today (Wednesday) in Barangay Bangon, Marawi City has further weakened the capability of the local terrorist group to mount hostile and destructive acts," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said in a statement Wednesday night.

Zacharia is known as the emir of DI-Philippines. Both men are facing various criminal cases in courts of law.

"The trust and support of our people, which resulted (in) successful joint law enforcement operations, motivates us to be relentless and aggressive in our counter-terrorism efforts to establish secure and peaceful communities," Aguilar said.

Again the AFP says the deaths of these two leaders has weakened the Daulah Islamiya but they have said that before. No doubt new leaders will rise in their places and the fight will continue to the bitter end.