Insurgency: Voters Reject CPP-NPA Affiliates

The local BSKE elections are almost upon us and the AFP has some advice for voters.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207813

The top Army official in the Visayas reminded voters not to support candidates affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Visayas Command (Viscom) chief, said in a statement Tuesday that they need all the help they could get in preventing the CPP-NPA from regaining their foothold in the region.

“As the Barangay and SK elections are fast approaching, we encourage our people to cast their vote wisely by not supporting individuals who are affiliated with the terrorist group,” Arevalo said.

Arevalo cited the vibrant partnership of the military in the region with the local government units and private stakeholders in drumming up dialogues through localized peace engagements that led to the piling of losses in the communist side.

Note that at no time does the AFP say exactly which parties are affiliated with the CPP-NPA. That makes this worthless advice. And it's not as if they haven't warned against certain parties in the past. So, why not this time?

Northern Samar remains one of the most NPA ridden areas and 900 PNP officers have now been deployed to ensure peace. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1208106

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed at least 900 cops to help sustain anti-insurgency efforts in 14 villages of Northern Samar.

Police officers assigned for “confidence-building” mission under the Revitalized “Pulis sa Barangay” (R-PSB) Program will stay for six months in the villages of Palapag, San Roque, and Mapanas towns earlier cleared from the threats of the New People’s Army (NPA).

PNP Eastern Visayas regional director Brig. Gen. Vincent Calanoga said in an interview Friday that 318 personnel were deployed late Thursday in Osmeña, Bagacay, Capacujan, Sangay, and Cabatuan villages in Palapag town; and Naparasan and Quezon village in Mapanas town.

In mid-July, the PNP also deployed 583 police personnel to Coroconog, Balnasan, Balud, Pagsang-an, Malobago, Lawaan, and Bantayan villages in San Roque town.

“We selected the best policemen for deployment since this is a sensitive operation. This is about confidence-building in communities previously influenced and are vulnerable to the persuasion of NPA,” Calanoga said.

These police personnel in 14 teams are skilled in farming, nursing, engineering, teaching, plumbing, electrical, and healthcare since their mission is to develop communities, he said.

How can anyone have confidence in the PNP? Let's hope the locals don't read the news. 

More NPA leaders have died this week. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207753

A political instructor and finance officer of the Southern Front Committee of the Komiteng Rehiyon Panay of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) was killed after sustaining injuries in a three-minute firefight with government troops in Barangay Cananaman in Leon, Iloilo past noon of Sunday.

“As a result of the firefight a female member was killed in action later identified as Rebecca Aliparo alias Mara. She has gunshot wounds on her left arm, right face, and right chest,” said Leon Municipal Police Station officer-in-charge Lt. Danilo L. Noca, in an interview on Monday.

Members of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) were unhurt while the two companions of Aliparo escaped.

The body of 56-year-old Aliparo, a resident of Barangay Bagacay in the municipality of Tigbauan, was claimed by her siblings on Monday.

Noca said according to her siblings, Aliparo started as a student activist when she was around 18 to 19 years old.

She did not graduate from college because she already joined the movement. The last time they saw her was in 1994, during the wake of their father.

“She was convinced by her family to return to the government but because of her principle, they were not able to persuade her,” Noca said, adding that after 38 years in the movement, she returned home already dead.

Brig. Gen. Michael Samson, 301st Infantry Brigade commander, said the incident was a major blow to the Southern Front.

“A political instructor is an important position because they are the ones indoctrinating on policies and other ideologies and policies by the central committee. So very important,” he said in a media interview.

Samson said they have been receiving information from the community regarding NPA presence, a sign that they are no longer welcome.

“Their presence means the place is not peaceful, investors and projects got affected. It is our legitimate mandate to pursue them and pressure them not to fight the government, usually, the result is death,” he added.

Another "major blow" says the AFP which they say rather often while the NPA continues as ever. 

In S. Kudarat an NPA leader was slain during a confrontation with troops. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1207853

A middle-level commander of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) was killed during an encounter with government forces in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, the military here said Tuesday.

Joseph Longan, leader of Beijing Platoon of the NPA Far South Mindanao Region Command, was killed in a clash with Army troopers in Barangay Badiangon, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat on Sunday, said Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar, commander of the Philippine Army’s 37th Infantry Battalion (37IB).

Baldomar said the troops were sent to the area after several residents alerted the Army about the NPA recruitment activities among high school students of the village.

The communist guerrillas fired on the responding soldiers, triggering a 10-minute gun battle.

Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, the Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade commander based in Palimbang, said soldiers recovered a hand grenade, food supplies, and personal items beside the body of Longan.

“The rebels have nowhere to go. There’s no letup in our operation against them in the mountains of Palimbang, Kalamansig and nearby areas,” Santos said.

No word on if this is also a big blow. The AFP says there is no let up in their operations in Mindanao and that certainly includes operations agains the Muslim insurgency. After lifting the emergency in Mindanao the AFP claims total victory against the Muslims should happen very soon. By the end of the year in fact. 

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/military-chief-victory-over-militants-by-year-end-07312023121229.html

The Philippines can achieve “total victory” against Muslim militants in the volatile south by year’s end, the country’s new military chief said, after the president last week lifted an emergency enforced across Mindanao since 2016. 

Armed Forces commander Gen. Romeo Brawner said there had been no kidnap-for-ransom activities during the past two years in Mindanao, the country’s southern third where Filipino extremist factions linked with the Islamic State group are known to operate.

“[F]or more than two years now, there [have been] no more such incidents because of the military operations we are conducting. Many of them were neutralized. Many of them died but more of them surrendered,” Brawner said on Sunday during a program on DZBB radio, transcripts of which were released Monday.

“That is why we are very optimistic that by the end of the year, we are going to defeat them, we will achieve total victory against all of these terrorist groups.”

Abu Sayyaf, Maute, and the BIFF might be on the wane but he is forgetting about the MILF which remains a terrorist group and has been given control of a large part of Mindanao. They still pose a threat. 

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/south-deadly-ambush-08142023113724.html

The Philippine military on Monday accused members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a former guerrilla group, of killing a soldier and a policeman during an attack in the south that left seven government troops wounded. 

In Sunday’s incident in Ungkaya Pukan, a remote town in the island province of Basilan, officials said that 10 gunmen ambushed a security convoy guarding a Joint Peace and Security Team. The team is tasked with overseeing the decommissioning and disarming of former MILF combatants as agreed in a 2014 peace agreement with Manila. 

The team members were riding in two vehicles after inspecting the area – a former MILF stronghold – when they were attacked, said Maj. Andrew Linao, a regional military spokesman.

“Our troops fought back, resulting in a firefight which lasted for five minutes,” Linao said. 

He said the soldier died on the spot, while the policeman died later while being treated for his injuries. The seven other wounded soldiers were recuperating at a military hospital in Zamboanga City.

“This act is a clear manifestation of the perpetrators’ disrespect to their local government officials, the military, and their fellow Basileños, hence, we will not stop until these heartless individuals are identified and neutralized,” Linao said.

BenarNews contacted local MILF authorities but did not immediately hear back.

Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of 101st Brigade and Joint Task Force Basilan (JTFB), said the MILF leadership “appears to have no control over its members,” although he added that they had denied their members were involved in the ambush.

“Right now, the pressure is on the MILF side to show their sincerity,” Luzon told reporters.

The fact is the MILF cannot be trusted no matter what promises they have made.  The MILF have literally said that 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. How they continue this fight remains to be seen.