Insurgency: Remnants Arrested

There is a new chief of the Visayas Command. At his installation ceremony he vowed the old promise to crush the NPA. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1223368

The new chief of the Visayas Command (Viscom) assured his commitment to continually address insurgency as they prepare for a bigger task in supporting the campaigns in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Lt. Gen. Fernando Reyeg, who was installed to lead the Armed Forces of the Philippines in three central Philippine regions on Wednesday, said the priority of his administration is to ensure stability and security by addressing internal threats.

"We are currently dealing with the fourth communist terrorist group's guerilla fronts, six horizontal platoons, and 10 regional and sub-regional party units," Reyeg said in his speech during the change of command ceremony.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner presided over the ceremony at the Viscom headquarters in Camp Lapulapu here.

Reyeg said the military in the Visayas is also committed to managing humanitarian and disaster relief assistance.

He pledged the Army’s continued support for law enforcement agencies.

Reyeg cited the urgency in defeating rebels so that the military could make a gradual shift in meeting external threats and assist the AFP in its thrust in the West Philippine Sea.

"We will secure the region but we will also continue to assist in the national territorial defense," he added.

Can't the AFP both defeat the NPA and defend the West Philippine Sea at the same time? Viscom is actually in the middle of the archipelago so it's not like they can do anything to defend the WPS. As for defeating the NPA in the Visayas, the Northern Negros Front was said to be dismantled but two remnants of the NNF have recently been arrested.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1223465

A joint military and police team arrested two suspected remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NFF) of the New People's Army (NPA) in a remote area of Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental on Thursday morning.

They were found illegally possessing several firearms, according to a report of the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB), whose troops were joined by personnel of the 1st Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company during the operation.

In an interview, 2nd Lt. Dan Carlo Samoza, civil-military operations officer of 79IB, said the government forces received information on the presence of armed men in Barangay Pinoyawan while conducting joint law enforcement operation in the area.

The two arrested NPA remnants, whose identities were withheld by the authorities for now, are already in the custody of Don Salvador Benedicto Municipal Police Station, he said.

Samoza said the troops recovered from their possession a KG-9 semiautomatic pistol, a caliber .45 pistol, and three 12-gauge shotguns.

Two minors were also found in their company, he said.

“This is still under investigation. We are validating other details with our counterparts,” he added.

Although the Philippine Army has declared the NNF as dismantled, its remnants are still operating in some areas in the northern part of the province.

If the NNF has remnants still operating how can it possibly said to be dismantled? Is it just a propaganda move, a psychological operation against the NPA to prematurely declare they have been defeated? 

The NTF-ELCAC claims the National Democratic Front (NDF) is the top terrorist groomer in the Philippines. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1223292

The National Democratic Front (NDF) remains the "foremost terror-groomer" among the various terrorist groups still operating in the country, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has said.

"Even in the CPP’s (Communist Party of the Philippines) 2016 Constitution, under Article 10, it shows that the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) is an integral and inseparable part of the CPP-NPA (New People's Army). It is the core and most consolidated group that provides support to the armed and organizational expansion of the CPP," NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a statement Tuesday night.

Torres said the pervasive threat posed by the NDF, established 51 years ago on April 24, 1973, undermines the very fabric of Filipino society.

The NDF's orchestration of worker strikes, student boycotts, and protests aimed at destabilizing the government underscores the imperative to confront their malevolent agenda, he added.

"These duplicitous organizations thrive on the suffering of the Filipino people, deceiving innocent individuals to join their corrupted cause and needlessly perish for it," Torres said.

He added that the CPP-NPA-NDF has methodically recruited innocent Filipinos into their armed components, perpetrating terrorist activities nationwide through its deceptive facade of front organizations.

Torres also said the insurgents' exploitation of vulnerable sectors and their manipulation of social issues have sown seeds of violence and anarchy in marginalized communities.

He noted that the targeted recruitment of vulnerable sectors, such as students and youth for terrorist grooming, is part of the "intricate dynamics" of the Underground Mass Organizations (UGMOs) of the CPP-NPA-NDF and their front organizations.

He emphasized the overarching authority of the NDF across diverse sectors within the CPP-NPA-NDF network nationwide.

Torres said “terrorist-grooming activities” are deliberately carried out by UGMOs through front organizations, such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) with the Revolutionary Congress of Trade Union as its underground mass organization; Gabriela/ MAKIBAKA (Makabayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan); ACT/KAGUMA (Katipunan ng mga Gurong Makabayan); and Alliance of Health Workers and HEAD/MASAPA (Makabayang Samahang Pangkalusugan), alongside legal and paralegal organizations.

This is not the first time this claim has been made. But what is the mechanism the leads from student boycotts and worker strikes to picking up a gun and joining the NPA? Moreover how does the NDF being a top terrorist groomer align with the claims that the NPA is dying and almost defeated? 

The BIFF is also on the way to being defeated though they remain dangerous. Recently a clash with the ISIS linked group resulted in the death of two top leaders and 10 followers. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/23/2-top-biff-karialan-faction-leaders-slain-in-maguindanao-clash

Two top leaders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters-Karialan faction and 10 others were killed in a clash with government forces in Barangay Kitango in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur on April 22, the Philippine Army 6th Infantry Division reported.

Seven government soldiers were reported wounded in the firefight.

In a press statement relased by the 6th Infantry Division, Brig. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, identified the slain BIFF leaders as Mohiden Animbang, popularly known as Kagui Karialan, the group’s leader, and his brother Saga, the rebel group's operations chief.

Cagara added that 10 of their followers were also killed in the intensified military operations that involved troops from the First Scout Ranger Battalion.  

Government troops recovered 12 high-powered firearms.

In a news report over Cotabato City-based dxMS Radyo Bida, BIFF spokesperson Abu Supyan confirmed the death of their two leaders.

Supyan added that the firefight started around 6 a.m. and lasted until 3 p.m.  

He admitted that they were cornered by government troops and pounded by airstrikes.

Even though the BIFF is dwindling the AFP says they expect retaliatory attacks in the wake of the death of their top leader. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/24/soldiers-brace-for-biff-retaliatory-attacks-after-death-of-top-leader

Military forces in Maguindanao and nearby areas have initiated security measures in anticipation of retaliatory attacks from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) following the death of its top leader and 11 other fighters in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town on Monday, April 22.

Lt. Col. Dennis Almorato, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, said a state of high alert has been implemented after the death of BIFF-Karialan Faction chairman Mohiden Animbang.

“We are expecting that they would retaliate but we are very much ready,” said Almorato.

In fact, Almorato said a small group of armed men harassed a military detachment in Datu Hoffer town several hours after the death of Animbang and 11 of his men on April 24. 

The military detachment attacked was some 20 kilometers away from the encounter site where Animbang was killed.

Almorato said no soldier was hurt during the attack during the 30-second strafing.

If they do retaliate the AFP should have no problem handling them.