Insurgency: Reds Moving to Recover Lost Ground

The Army has sent an artillery platoon to Northern Samar to help eradicate insurgents. That is because the AFP says the NPA has regrouped. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226181

The Philippine Army in Eastern Visayas has welcomed the arrival of an artillery platoon to help eradicate insurgents in Northern Samar province.

Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division (8ID) spokesperson, Capt. Jefferson Mariano, said in a phone interview Tuesday that the 2nd Howitzer Platoon of the Army’s Armor Artillery Regiment is highly trained to perform artillery operations.

The platoon previously assigned to Capiz province under the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division has two howitzer tubes and nine personnel.

“The platoon will be under the operational control of the 803rd Infantry Brigade. Their main effort is to confront the regional guerilla unit of the NPA’s (New People's Army) Eastern Visayas regional party committee in the province of Northern Samar,” Mariano said.

The NPA unit has regrouped after the dismantling of two front committees in Northern Samar. The military said these NPA remnants are not in control of any village in the province.

The deployment of the Howitzer Platoon will bolster the existing firepower capabilities towards the complete eradication of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA in the region.

The revelation that the NPA is regrouping in Northern Samar comes a month after the region was declared to be under internal peace and security.

https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/6/northern-samar-declared-under-stable-internal-peace-security

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Major Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the 8th Infantry Division, announced that Northern Samar is now under a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security after no active NPA guerilla fronts were found operating in the province.

Ligayo added that all the barangays in the province are free from NPA influence.

Abalos presided over  the Joint Regional Task Force 8-End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) Peace and Development Dialogue here on Monday, May 6.

The dialogue highlighted the peace and security status and the collaborative efforts of the members of the Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support Custer of JRTF8-ELCAC and the successful civilian-led dismantling of the remaining guerilla fronts.

Brig. Gen. Efren Morados, commander of the 803rd Infantry Brigade, disclosed that there are only five NPA vertical units left which are remnants of different front committee units in Eastern Visayas.

Morados said that there is one criteria to enable Northern Samar to be declared as insurgency-free. "There should be no report, sightings, or movements of NPAs in the area," he said.

The PNP has sent 299 cops to the Western Visayas to prevent the resurgence of the insurgency. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226277

A total of 299 police officers who completed training under the Revitalized Pulis sa Barangay (RPSB) Program are currently deployed in 17 Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) and urban barangays in Western Visayas.

“They are required to conduct environmental scanning and interview families so they will know the concerns of the barangay and not just focus on peace and order. It will continue for six months,” Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) Regional Director Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky said in an interview on Wednesday.

The program aims to sustain the gains of the Community Support Program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Retooled Community Support Program of local government units.

“This aims to prevent the resurgence of insurgency, insulate unaffected communities from the recovery efforts of the communist terrorist group, and to assist the communities address their peculiar concerns and facilitate in availing the basic services of the government they need to avail,” the regional police said in a statement.

The deployment included one barangay each in Aklan and Antique, two in Iloilo City and Negros Occidental, three in Capiz, and four each in Iloilo province and Bacolod City.

“We have created an oversight committee to assess the performance of 299 cops having an immersion in villages. Weekly, they will visit RPSB teams to determine if they are exercising their mandates. They have a checklist on what to do during their six-month immersion period,” the Region 6 top cop added.

The PNP also admits the NPA is attempting to regain lost ground in Southern Luzon.

https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/8/reds-moving-to-recover-lost-ground-in-southern-luzon-says-armamento

Police Lt. Gen. Rhoderick Armamento, commander of the Area Police Command-South Luzon, said the New People's Army is moving to recover lost ground in Southern Luzon.

Armamento, speaking during the first anniversary of the Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) commitment of this town recently, reminded barangay officials and local government units to be more vigilant as communist rebels plan to regain barangays by recruiting students and progressive groups in the community.

He urged barangay officials inform authorities if they see new faces in their communities.

So, what we see is that the NPA is regrouping and there is a potential resurgence in the Visayas and Southern Luzon. This comes amidst the AFP saying the insurgency is practically defeated. In fact they already declared the NPA has been strategically defeated. But we see that is not the case as the AFP and PNP is sending in reinforcements to prevent a potential resurgence which means the NPA is alive and still poses a threat.

All the while the AFP has been saying the NPA is on the outs they also continue to claim the NPA is recruiting through protests. They handed out pamphlets at a high school seminar red-tagging protestors and demonstrators. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/5/chr-flags-afp-s-distribution-to-students-of-red-tagging-pamphlets

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed its "deep worries" over reports that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) distributed "red-tagging pamphlets" to students during a recent seminar held at Taytay Senior High School in Rizal.

The pamphlets seemed to point out that the recruiters of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) "could be found at protests" and are "teaching people to despise government," the CHR said.

In a statement, the CHR said the distribution of the pamphlets is deeply worrying as it resorts to "arbitrary labeling."

"While the CHR is one with the State in preserving and protecting the country’s peace and security through the adoption of policies countering the threats of terrorism and underground armed rebellion, we believe that it is still essential to raise awareness about the potential dangers of arbitrary labeling," the CHR said. 

"We should also focus on sustainable solutions and measures that address these problems, ensuring that security efforts do not infringe on the rights and freedoms of individuals," it said.

At the same time, the CHR said the distribution of the pampletes also sends a wrong message about rallying, since protests and peaceful dissents are fundamental human rights. 

It cited Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which states that "no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

"Participating in protest and dissent are forms of public expression used to voice grievances, not to identify themselves as part of an insurgency or communist armed rebellion. Regardless of political orientation and ideology, participating in a protest is an exercise of fundamental human rights, allowing individuals to express their concerns and demand change," the CHR pointed out. 

It was the Kabataan Party-List which reported the pamphlet distribution by the members of the AFP's 80th Infantry Battalion (IB). The pamphlets, which the partylist dubbed as "brainwashing pamphlets," bore drawings of students wearing red shirts that reportedly blame everything bad on the government and can be spotted in rallies.

The CHR took note of the response on the pamphlet distribution made by the National Security Council's (NSC) which refuted the allegations and stated that it is only for informing students about indicators that they are being recruited by communist rebel group organizers.

It acknowledged the importance of protecting the welfare and safety of students. However, it is essential that these efforts "do not stigmatize legitimate expressions of dissent," it stressed. 

It then urged all Filipinos, particularly those in security forces, to refrain from disseminating what it described as "misconstrued" information that could hinder the freedom to protest or compromise the safety of individuals exercising their democratic rights.

It said: "The Commission remains committed to its Constitutional mandate to protect the rights of all. We believe that participation in peaceful protests should not be misconstrued as an endorsement of insurgency or joining an underground armed movement. Instead, it is a legitimate and protected means for people to seek redress from the government, integral to maintaining a healthy and responsive democracy."

This is clearly a violation of the SC ruling that only the ATC can assert who are communists.

In the meantime a BIFF leader has been apprehended. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226349

Agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) apprehended a senior field commander of the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) with multiple murder cases in Maguindanao del Sur on Wednesday afternoon.

Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, chief of the CIDG in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), identified the suspect as 65-year-old Abunawas Ibad Damiog of Barangay Alongan, Datu Piang town.

“Armed with search warrants, CIDG operatives arrested Damiog near his home in Datu Piang. He was armed with a .45-caliber pistol when arrested around 1 p.m.,” Huesca said in an interview on Thursday.

Damiog is the third most wanted person in BARMM, CIDG records showed.

According to Huesca, Damiog is facing a string of murder, double frustrated murder, multiple attempted murder, and destructive arson charges before local courts.

He is also accused of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Damiog's group allegedly attacked the town of Datu Piang on Dec. 3, 2020, setting ablaze a police car and strafing the Roman Catholic Church in the area.

He also allegedly led the BIFF harassment against an Army detachment in Barangay Meta, Datu Unsay, Maguindanao del Sur, killing a soldier and injuring two others several years ago.

Damiog was one of the trusted lieutenants of BIFF founder Ameril Umra Kato, who died of a heart ailment in April 2015.

In 2021, Damiog was among the five BIFF combatants who surrendered to the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Ampatuan, Maguindanao Sur.

That is another BIFF leader neutralized.