Insurgency: Insurgency in PH to End This Year

It's official, again. The insurgency will be ending by the end of the year.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/20/23/defense-official-says-insurgency-in-ph-to-end-this-year

Senior Undersecretary Ireneo Espino of the Department of National Defense said insurgency in the Philippines will be finished before the year ends.

“The country will be insurgency free before the year ends, so that means business can be opened anywhere in the country, business can prosper,” he said.

Espino made the pronouncement during the General Membership Meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), a group of business executives in the country with more than a thousand members.

According to Espino, the only remaining insurgent group the government is focusing on is in Samar.

“As far as the insurgency fronts are concerned, there is only one remaining front being addressed by the Armed Forces and it will be addressed this quarter, the insurgency front in Samar. So basically all the insurgency fronts are already declared cleared, zero insurgent,” he adds.

Wow! That headline is very misleading. It appears the AFP has declared total victory now by saying "all the insurgency fronts are already declared cleared, zero insurgent." Except that is not the case at all. The NPA remains very active. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210846

Three fighters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter with troops of the Philippine Army's 61st Infantry Battalion (6IB) in the boundary of far-flung barangays of Leon, Iloilo on Friday.

“There were three casualties on the part of the NPA and none from the 61st IB. They recovered two M-16 armalite rifles, assorted belongings, and subversive documents,” Leon Municipal Police Station (MPS) officer-in-charge PLt. Danilo L. Noca, said in an interview.

The rebels who fought with the soldiers were members of the NPA's Sibat Platoon, Southern Front, Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay.

The encounter happened at the boundary of Barangays Cagay and Danao, approximately 1.5 to two kilometers from the last clash in Barangay Camandag on Sept. 12. 

Are these three fighters the only members of this front? Seems doubtful. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210527

A New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla was killed in an encounter with government troopers in Esperanza town, Agusan del Sur on Sunday.

In a statement Monday, the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) identified the slain NPA as Madagi Tumanan, a resident of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.

Timanan died during the clash with soldiers from the Army's 26th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Barangay Guibongon, Esperanza municipality.

“Based on the report of Lt. Col. Sandy Majarocon, the commander of 26IB, the troops encountered around five NPA rebels in the area, which resulted in the death of Tumanan and the recovery of an M16 rifle,” 4ID said in a statement.

It added that the slain rebel's remains will be turned over to his family through the Philippine National Police in Gingoog City.

 

Meanwhile, the 4ID also reported the recovery of six high-powered firearms last Sept. 22 in an encounter in Barangay Bontongon, Impasug-ong, Bukidnon.

“The troops of the 8IB clashed with seven NPA terrorists which resulted in the recovery of two firearms and an additional four others after the search and clearing operations,” the 4ID said.

The firearms included two M1 Garand rifles, a .45-caliber pistol, an M16 rifle, an M203 grenade launcher, and a .22-caliber pistol.

In addition, the troops also recovered an anti-personnel mine with a fuse and detonating cord at the vicinity of the encounter site.

Is it logical to believe these five were the ONLY NPA fighters in the entire area? Of course not. Whatever front they belong to is not insurgent free.

In the Zamboanga Peninsula there are at least 19 NPA fighters left. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1839114/military-hunts-19-remaining-npas-in-zamboanga-peninsula

The Army has assured mountain resort operators in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental of their safety amid recent encounters with communist rebels in the area.

Lt. Col. Nolasco Coderos Jr., commander of the Army’s 97th Infantry Battalion, said the armed encounters in the last few days in Sergio Osmeña and Piñan towns were due to the New People’s Army guerrillas being constricted by intensified military operations, and not due to a harassment operation.

Coderos explained that the rebels were running away from their lairs in Misamis Occidental’s side of the sprawling Malindang mountain range and had strayed into Piñan and Osmeña towns.

This gave his soldiers the opportunity to chase after the rebels who then engaged in a firefight in a bid to buy time for an escape.

Lt. Col. Jose Andre Monje, commander of the 10th Infantry Battalion operating in Misamis Occidental, said they have counted 12 remaining rebels in the province, indicating their radically weakening state.

Over at Zamboanga del Norte, Coderos said only seven rebels are trying to maintain holdouts there.

The boundaries of the two provinces host what remains of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said Coderos.

Again, that is not an insurgent free NPA front. 

The AFP has warned NGOs to not support the CPP-NPA.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210810

The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Friday said non-government organizations (NGOs) aiding the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) should stop activities of raising revenues to help fund the operation of the underground movement as it will get them in trouble.

“Aiding, conspiring, and providing financial support to the terrorist group is a crime punishable under our law. For those who are doing this, we urge you to stop,” Visayas Command chief, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, said in a statement.

The military and the police, he said, are determined to end the local communist armed conflict in the Visayas and “will not hesitate to enforce the full extent of the law to bring justice for our people who have been the victims of these nefarious acts.”

Arevalo’s statement came as the Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted Thursday a preliminary hearing against 25 members of the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET) who are facing charges of violation of the Republic Act 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.

If all the fronts are insurgent free then how can anyone be supporting the CPP-NPA? It defies logic unless there are still NPA members in those fronts. 

NPA fighters are still being encouraged to surrender though a formal declaration of amnesty has not been proclaimed by President Marcos. However it appears that not only do surrendering NPA fighters get benefits but the families of NPA fighters slain in battle can also receive benefits!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210627

The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Western Visayas (DSWD-6) has provided financial and funeral assistance to the families of the six New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who were killed in a clash with troops of the Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on Sept. 21.

47IB civil-military operations officer 1Lt. Charmaine Sancho on Wednesday said all bodies were identified and claimed by their respective next of kin.

Together with Kabankalan Mayor Benjie Miranda, Sancho witnessed the release of the PHP10,000 cash aid to each family representative of the five fatalities from Negros Occidental at the City Social Development Welfare Office (CSWDO) on Monday.

The fatalities, all from NPA South West Front Squad 2 of Sangay Yunit Propaganda Platoon 3, were identified as Pedro Pillar Jabalde, 31, of Barangay Malabuyucon Buenavista, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental; the squad leader initially identified as Alejo “Peter/Bravo” de los Reyes; Ruben de la Cruz Gaitan, 31,of Barangay Camansi, Kabankalan City; Bobby Totin Pedro, 28, of Barangay Tabu, Ilog; Mario Fajardo Mollon, 60, of Barangay Cabia-an, Candoni; Melisa Hiro de la Peña, 23, of Barangay Inayawan, Cauayan; and Janesa Malasabas Romano, 22, of Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City.

The release of the cash assistance for the family of the fatality from Guihungan is being processed, Sancho said.

The Kabankalan City government also provided cash assistance and food packs to Gaitan’s family, while the other local governments, where the other fatalities came from, also granted burial assistance to their families.

Troops of the 47IB clashed with the group of communist rebels, led by Jabalde, who fired at them in Sitio Lubi, Barangay Tabugon while responding to the reported presence of armed men demanding food and money from the locals.

Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, dismissed claims the soldiers committed human rights violations during the encounter, saying the operation was legitimate and welcomed any inquiry by any independent party.

“Those who died in the said encounter were top cadres of the communist-terrorist group. Their long record of notoriety is well-known in southern Negros or the CHICKS (Candoni, Hinobaan, Ilog, Cauayan, Kabankalan, and Sipalay) area,” he said in a statement on Monday. 

These six men were well known and notorious yet the government is giving their kin benefits? On what basis moral and legal is that justifiable?

Remember when the AFP declared Sulu Abu Sayyaf-free? Turns out that was wrong. 

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/09/26/regions/sayyaf-killed-9-policemen-wounded-in-sulu-encounter/1911766

An Abu Sayyaf fighter was killed and nine police commandos were wounded in a firefight Saturday in Sulu province in southern Philippines.

The fighting was the first between security forces and the pro-ISIS group following the military's declaration that the province is now free from the Abu Sayyaf.

Police forces were sent to the remote town of Panamao to serve an arrest warrant on a wanted Abu Sayyaf member Muksidal Jumadil at his hideout in the village of Seir Hagad after villagers tipped off authorities about his presence.

Jumadil opened automatic fire on the commandos, sparking a fierce battle that eventually resulted in the killing of the gunman. The wounded commandos, all members of the 7th Special Action Battalion, were rushed to a hospital. Among the wounded were a captain and two of his lieutenants.

Police said Jumadil was wanted for a string of murders in the Sulu. No other details about his criminal past were made available by the authorities. Many of the Abu Sayyaf leaders in Sulu had been killed in military and police operations and their members surrendered the past years to avail of the government's amnesty program.

Granted this is only ONE Abu Sayyaf member and he was being arrested due to a warrant for murder. But how many other ASG members remain in Sulu? Members of the BIFF, MILF, and DI remain active in Maguindanao.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1836748/maguindanao-sultan-kudarat-military-operations-kill-3

Operations by police and military forces in Maguindanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat provinces, authorities said.

Two men from Maguindanao del Sur suspected of involvement in gunrunning activities were killed when they resisted arrest after an entrapment operation in Lambayong town, Sultan Kudarat, said Major Jethro Doligas, Lambayong police chief.

Doligas said the two gunrunners opened fire on a man they were negotiating with about 1 p.m. for the sale of two homemade sniper rifles at the national highway in Barangay Didtaras.

Doligas identified the fatalities as Abdulazis Bukakong, a suspected member of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters residing in Barangay Kulambog, and Alimudin Tayan, an alleged member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front residing in Barangay Darumpua, both in Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao del Sur.

In Ampatuan town, also in Maguindanao del Sur, military forces killed a suspected member of the Dawlah Islamiya terrorist group during a military operation.

Brigadier General Oriel Pangcog, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, identified the suspect as Merlo Mling, who was killed in a brief clash Sunday with soldiers from the 40th Infantry Battalion.

Pangcog said the clash began when Mling and his companions fired at soldiers heading toward the outskirts of Ampatuan to check on reports about the presence of gunmen in the area.

As much as the government wants to make Mindanao a tourist destination they need to face the truth that terrorism still remains a threat.