Insurgency: Marcos In Dreamland

A few weeks ago the AFP declared there are not more active guerrilla fronts in the Philippines. In a weekly talk on his Facebook page President Marcos repeated this declaration. The CPP-NPA says he is living in dreamland. 

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2024/1/15/cpp-npa-marcos-guerrilla-fronts.html

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was dreaming when he claimed that its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), no longer has active guerrilla fronts in the country.

"Marcos Jr is in dreamland when he claims there are no more active NPA guerrilla fronts. The NPA remains active in 14 regional commands across the country each with a number of guerrilla fronts," CPP Chief Information Officer Marco Valbuena told CNN Philippines on Sunday.

The CPP's statement was a response to Marcos' earlier pronouncement that there are no more active NPA guerilla fronts as of December 2023 after government forces neutralized some 1,400 members of extremist groups. 

"If Marcos's declarations were true, why is it that around 60-70,000 military and police combat troops (or around 150 battalions of AFP and PNP counterinsurgency units) remain deployed against the NPA across the country?" Valbuena said. "Why do they continue to squander hundreds of millions of pesos to drop bombs and fire their howitzers?"

The CPP official said Marcos made the declarations to play to the desires of foreign investors, whom, Valbuena said, the president "desperately wants to entice with promises of unlimited access to the country's land and natural resources".

Valbuena added that while the NPA suffered setbacks over the past years, it is "far from defeated" and remains determined to thwart the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) "brutal offensives."

"The NPA continues to carry out guerrilla maneuvers to break out of the AFP's encirclement, to quietly build a bigger mass base and expand its guerrilla fronts," he added.

Despite the AFP's alleged bloody campaign of state terrorism in the countryside, taking away peasant farms and ancestral land, Valbuena stressed that the Filipino people, especially the peasant masses, continue to support and join the NPA to defend their economic and political rights.

"The NPA will make sure that it will outlast Marcos, just like it outlasted his father and all the governments of the past 35 years who all bragged of crushing the NPA," he said.

The National Security Council strongly disagrees saying the NPA is no longer a force to be reckoned with. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/15/npa-is-no-longer-a-force-to-reckon-with-says-nsc-exec

The New People's Army (NPA) is no longer considered a force to reckon with by the national government after it supposedly lost its support from the mass, an official of the National Security Council (NSC) said Monday, Jan. 15.

NSC spokesperson Jonathan Malaya made the remark after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared that there are no longer active NPA guerilla fronts in the country.

However, there remains 13 "weakened" guerilla fronts, or those that lost their mass base support, because of focus military operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and socio-economic intervention programs by the government.

"They are no longer considered a force to reckon with because they are classified as weakened which means they lost support from the mass)," Malaya said in a radio interview with dzBB.

"They are no longer a significant threat," he added.

According to data from the AFP, 76 out of the total 89 guerilla fronts have been dismantled by the military as of 2023.

Last year, a total of 1,399 members of communists and local terrorists groups were neutralized while 1,751 firearms were seized by government troops.

Even if the weakened guerilla fronts manage to regroup, Malaya believes that it will be difficult for them to be as powerful as before since they already lost most of their leaders, particularly Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. "Joma" Sison who died in 2022.

"I think the Philippine government is in a better position to demand from them kasi nga may leverage tayo ngayon (because we have a leverage now). Pansin naman ng ating mga kababayan na obviously talagang panalo na tayo (The people obviously know that we are the victors here)," Malaya said.

While the NSC says there are 13 weakened fronts the AFP says there are only 11.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1889572/only-eleven-weakened-npa-guerrilla-fronts-are-left-says-brawner

The number of guerrilla fronts of communist New People’s Army (NPA) has declined from 13 to 11.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the decrease was reported to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The Commander in Chief attended the military command conference at AFP Commissioned Officers Club House at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon city on Monday.

“It was announced that there were 13 (weakened guerrilla fronts),” Brawner said in an ambush interview after the event.

“In our presentation this morning, we presented to the President that from the 13th, it’s now down to 11,” he told reporters.

Now that the NPA is weakened the NTF-ELCAC says it is timely to shift focus to external threats. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217076

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Wednesday backed the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) shift of its focus to territorial or external defense amid the waning threat of communist insurgency.

"Indeed, the NTF-ELCAC is fully supporting the defense sector to transition from internal security operations to external defense," the task force said in a social media post.

"What’s left now of the NPA are just small teams engaging in pure banditry. We commend the active participation of local government units in eliminating communist terrorist groups in their communities," the NTF-ELCAC added.

"So we gave a new set of targets to our commanders for them in order for us to totally defeat the communist terrorist group, by doing that we will be able to shift now to territorial defense," AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. noted, adding that he cannot make this public for security reasons.

Brawner also said the AFP will try to defeat the remaining NPA forces within the year. 

The first month of the year is a little more than half over and already the AFP is promising to defeat the NPA by year's end. 

Whether that happens or not the Army is committed to making Negros Island insurgency free. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217057

The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (ID) remained firm in its goal to end the local communist armed conflict in Negros Island after receiving recognition from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its successful peace campaign in its area of operations.

In a statement on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of 3ID, said the campaign streamer award given to its units, 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) and 94th Infantry Battalion (IB), is a “solid testament to our unwavering efforts to achieve peace and prosperity in the island,” highlighted by the dismantling of all five New People’s Army (NPA) guerilla fronts in Negros as of the end of 2023.

“This recognition is a source of our endless commitment and dedication to liberate Negrenses from the shackles of insurgency,” he said.

AFP commander-in-chief, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., presented the awards to Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303IBde, and Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commanding officer of 94IB, during the AFP Year-End 2023 Command Conference held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Monday.

The said units were awarded, specifically for dismantling guerrilla fronts, and significantly contributing to the AFP’s overall victory against communist terrorist groups.

In Negros, the 303IBde and the 94IB dismantled the Central Negros 2 of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor last Dec. 21, following the dismantling of the first three, including the South East Front, Northern Negros Front and Central Negros 1.

The remaining South West Front, already considered “weakened,” has also been recommended by the 3ID for a formal declaration of being dismantled by the AFP Visayas Command and the Joint Peace Security and Coordinating Committee.

Edralin, whose unit is based in Murcia, Negros Occidental, thanked the AFP leadership for recognizing the relentless efforts of the troops in Negros in ending the decades-long insurgency.

“This award is also a triumph for all Negrenses who have been our partners in all our endeavors. It is also a testament to our genuine commitment to end the local communist armed conflict. We will continue our efforts until Negros Island is declared insurgency-free,” he added.

The war is not over, the gains have not been sustained over a long period of time, and the Army is already handing out awards. Note that the AFP says the South West Front is considered weakened but is now being recommended "for a formal declaration of being dismantled." On what basis?

Davao has been declared insurgency free since October, 2022 and yet the AFP is still working to sustain the gains. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1216937

The 10th Infantry Division (I0ID) and the Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao (OPAMINE) have vowed to further strengthen efforts in sustaining the peace gains of being an insurgency-free Davao region.

Maj. Mark Anthony Tito, the 10ID spokesperson, said the exertions of their unit include focused military operations, conduct of localized peace engagement, and strengthened integrated territorial defense system (ITDS).

“We also conducted information and education campaigns and outreach programs with stakeholders to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) as well as conducted sectoral engagement activities including Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities,” Tito said in an interview on Monday.

Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Allan Hambala, 10ID commander, said he and Secretary Leo Tesoro Magno have already discussed the assistance that the OPAMINE could extend to the military unit.

For instance, Hamabala said ground troops need support for their training and supplies to further boost their morale while on the field.

Being the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for the Davao Region, Magno acknowledged that maintaining the region as insurgency-free is a gargantuan task not just for the security forces but the entire populace as well.

On Jan. 8, Magno also met with Philippine Army chief, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, to map out security measures and other programs for the region that would contribute to peace stability, order, and security.

“The strategic planning meeting was intended to help the security forces in Davao region strengthen their measures in maintaining peace in the area,” Magno said.

It seems what peace there is, is fragile and the insurgency is ready to break out at any minute if the Army is not conducting peace initiatives. 

The fight continues despite awards ceremonies and declarations of peace. The Army recently captured an NPA camp.

https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/16/army-captures-npa-camp-in-negros-occidental

The Army 79th Infantry Battalion captured a New People’s Army (NPA) camp in an encounter in the hinterlands of Sitio Martesan, Barangay Cambayobo, Calatrava, Negros Occidental on Monday, January 15.

Several firearms and war materiel were recovered after the gun battle with about eight remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front, NNF (D), Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor (KR-NCBS). 

Retrieved were a .30 Garand rifle, a Carbine rifle, a .38 caliber revolver, long and short magazine for Carbine rifle, a magazine for Garand rifle, two rifle grenades, 21 ammunition for Carbine rifle, five ammunition for Garand rifle, two ammunition for .38 caliber, assorted medicines, subversive documents with high intelligence value, and personal belongings. 

Capt. Dan Carlo Samoza, 79th IB civil-military operations (CMO) officer, said soldiers were conducting operations to hunt down a group of NPA rebels tagged behind the killings in the town and neighboring areas when the firefight broke out. 

This NPA band killed  businessman Juvinie Sarona in Toboso town, Negros Occidental early this month, according to the 3rd Infantry Division (ID). 

Samoza said no casualty was recorded on the government side but bloodstains were found on the withdrawal route of the NPA. 

The Army had earlier vowed to bring justice to Sarona and his family and hunt down the perpetrators behind the killings. 

“We attribute these successful operations to the vigilance and cooperation of the Negrenses,” said Major Gen. Marion Sison, 3rd ID commander, in a statement. 

With their strong support, your Army and PNP, will not rest until justice is served to the bereaved family of Sarona and other victims of NPA killings in Negros, Sison added.

Another NPA leader has been killed in a firefight with the AFP.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1216941

A high-ranking leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) died in a clash with government troops in Barangay Togawe, Gubat town in Sorsogon province over the weekend.

In an interview on Monday, Maj. Frank Roldan, 9th Infantry Division (9ID) spokesperson, identified the slain as Baltazar Hapa (alias Patrick), commanding officer of NPA's Komiteng Larangang Guerilla 1, Sub-regional Committee 3.

"The encounter occurred Sunday evening, as the government forces conducted a hot pursuit operation related to an earlier clash in Barangay Sangat, Gubat, Sorsogon, which occurred on Sunday afternoon. The firefight from both sides lasted for 25 minutes, resulting in the death of Hapa and the seizure of an M4 rifle, magazines, and improvised explosive device," Roldan said.

No casualties were recorded on the government side during the operation

Funny how the AFP says the NPA is leaderless yet the keep killing leaders!