The recruitment of new NPA fighters and the resurgence of defeated guerrilla fronts hangs like a specter over the Philippines. The AFP is constantly warning about them. Counter-insurgency efforts in Negros Oriental are ongoing to prevent the recruitment and resurgence efforts of the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228530 |
Counter-insurgency operations continue in Negros Oriental against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) to prevent the recruitment of new members or the recovery of dismantled guerilla fronts, an official said Monday.
Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO), said that the latest combat operations resulted in the recovery of an improvised shotgun and components of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Sunday in Barangay Milagrosa in the southern town of Sta. Catalina.
The police operatives from the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company were acting on a tip from civilians in the area who said they saw three males “harboring” in the said barangay and allegedly buried the items.
They were suspected remnants of the dismantled South East Front of the NPA, Polinar said.
“We are conducting relentless combat operations against the remaining NPA rebels to ensure that they cannot regain hold of their previous mass-base, now that Negros Oriental is already under a status of Stable Internal Peace and Security,” he added.
Relentless combat operations against the remaining NPA are ongoing throughout the country. In Camarines Sur another NPA leader was killed in a clash with the AFP.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228574 |
A high-ranking official of the New People's Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter with government troops in Tinambac, Camarines Sur on Monday, the 9th Infantry Division (9ID) of the Philippine Army said Tuesday.
In a report, Maj. Frank Roldan, 9ID Public Affairs Unit chief, identified the slain rebel as Vergel Balcueva (alias Disan/Joey/James), leader of the Front Operational Command of Sub-Regional Committee-2.
"The exchange of gunfire lasted for 10 minutes before Balcueva was abandoned by his fleeing comrades. An M16 rifle and personal belongings were also left at the site," he said.
Roldan said Balcueva was also listed as a wanted person for multiple charges, including two attempted murders, two frustrated murders, illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives, and violation of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
"No injuries or other fatalities were reported by either the government or the residents in the area," he added.
Roldan said after Balcueva's death, the 9ID expects the remaining NPA members to surrender and return to the government, further decreasing the group's strength.
He said the government continues to conduct military operations to ensure public safety and prepare for the upcoming national and local elections.
That is one more leader of the leaderless NPA being killed in combat.
Regular NPA fighters are also being killed in encounters with the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228491 |
Two members of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter on Monday with government troops in Barangay San Roque, Esperanza town in Masbate province, the Philippine Army (PA) reported.
Maj. Frank Roldan, 9th Infantry Division (9ID) Public Affairs Unit chief, said the troops encountered at least eight rebels belonging to the Komiteng Larangang Guerilla-South, Sub-Regional Committee-4, operating in Masbate.
"After the 15-minute firefight, the NPA members escaped toward different areas, leaving behind their dead comrades. We are still waiting for the identities of the two NPA members who were killed during the clash," he said.
Roldan said recovered at the encounter site were an M653 rifle, a caliber .38 revolver, and some personal belongings of the rebels.
Troops in the area are still conducting pursuit operations.
He also said the 9ID is encouraging the residents to continue to provide information about rebels who may be hiding.
The military also ensured the safety of the public, citing intensified operations against armed men aimed at eradicating insurgency in the Bicol region.
Too bad they did not surrender or else they would have received free money and housing. 3 NPA rebels in Agusan del Norte did surrender.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/10/3-npa-fighters-surrender-in-agusan-del-norte |
Three New People’s Army (NPA) rebels surrendered to the military in Agusan del Norte on Saturday, July 6.
Capt. Jade Bryce Bune, civil-military operations officer of the 29th Infantry Battalion, identified the surrenderers as aliases Agila, Jen, and Maxx.
The surrenderers who turned over guns and bullets were from the Sub-Regional Sentro de Grabidad Westland of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC).
“Lack of food, loss of leadership, and fear are the primary reasons that they have decided to return to the folds of the law in order to begin a new and peaceful life together with their respective families in the mainstream society,” 29th IB commanding officer Lt. Col. Cresencio C. Gargar said.
The 29th IB welcomed the rebel returnees.
“As the communist terrorist group struggles to maintain its organizational coherence, the 29th IB will continue to intensify efforts in defeating the few remaining members of this criminal group,” Gargar said.
“Through the peace-building mechanisms, the 29th IB aims to contribute significantly in creating Agusan del Norte an environment conducive to peace and sustainable development.”
"The gate of 29th IB is always welcome to all the remaining Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs) who are only victims, those who want to surrender and return to the fold of the law like these rebel returnees. The 29th IB will help you through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Programs (ECLIP) of the government," Gargar said.
Again with he charge that the NPA is leaderless and organizationally incoherent. But there must be some leadership, some glue, holding the remaining rebels together or else everyone would surrender immediately.
Another NPA weapon cache has been found.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/10/npa-arms-cache-recovered-in-borongan-city |
The Philippine Army recovered high-powered firearms in the boundaries of hinterland Barangays Calingatnan and San Mateo in Borongan City, Eastern Samar on Tuesday, July 9.
Found were a baby Armalite, five long magazines and four short magazines for M653, 248 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, 11 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 10 rounds of caliber .38 ammunition, three rounds of 9mm ammunition, one box of caliber .38 ammunition, and one bandolier.
Former members of the Apoy Platoon of the Sub-Regional Committee Sesame revealed the location of the arms cache to the military.
The recovery was a result of the implementation of Project: Apoy of the 78th Infantry (Warrior) Battalion under the operational control of the 802nd Infantry (Peerless) Brigade.
Lt. Col. Joseph Bogaoan of the 78th IB said the former communist rebels have been cooperating with their unit in revealing the identities of existing contacts of the remnants of the Apoy platoon in the areas where they seek refuge as they continue to evade government operating forces.
Bogaoan revealed that one of the contacts was identified as a trusted custodian of high-powered firearms and other war materials owned by the communist guerillas.
Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, 802nd IB commander, said that the recovery of the war materials is a testament to the commitment of the former members of Apoy platoon in helping the government attain peace."The successful execution of this operation underscores the importance of the support of former rebels in our campaign. They are more knowledgeable on the human and physical terrain in the areas they used to hide and they are the best people that could help us in our efforts to convince their former comrades to join them in the mainstream of our society," Vestuir said.
These arms caches are regularly found throughout the countryside. If the NPA is disorganized who is stocking these caches? The AFP says former rebels are responsible for revealing the location of these caches but why didn't they reveal them when they surrendered? Why wait till now? The AFP says the rebel who led them to the cache was a custodian of those weapons.
"One of these contacts was identified as a trusted custodian of high-powered firearms and other war materials owned by the remnants of Apoy platoon. He provided crucial information to the government troops as to the location of these war materials in the upland Calingatnan and San Mateo villages in Borongan City, Eastern Samar," Bogaoan said in a statement.
Shouldn't a prerequisite for surrendering and receiving E-CLIP benefits be the revelation of arms caches along with other relevant information such as the location of NPA camps and hideouts? It seems not.
The NTF-ELCAC claims 1.9K Reds have surrendered in the first half of 2024. 1,266 of them were full-fledged NPA fighters. The DND Undersecretary says the current NPA strength stands at 1,251.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228827 |
The government's Local Peace Engagement (LPE) initiative has led to the surrender of 1,904 communist insurgents in the first half of the year, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Friday.
In a statement, the anti-insurgency body said these surrendered former New People's Army (NPA) members came from 299 cleared barangays across the country.
The figure comprises 1,266 full-fledged NPA fighters and 638 Militia ng Bayan members.
"This period marks a remarkable achievement. This accomplishment will serve as the foundation for us to accelerate and advance," Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Undersecretary for the Local Conflict Transformation Cluster Wilben Mayor said during the NTF-ELCAC's first semestral conference at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday.
He was referring to Tracks 1 and 2 of the LPE and Transformation program, which include community consultation, and problem-solving sessions and local peace dialogue, respectively.
Meanwhile, Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Angelito De Leon, head of the NTF-ELCAC's Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support Cluster, reported that the NPA's strength has decreased to only 1,251 from 24,000 in the 1980s.
"Significantly, during this period, 37 key leaders of the NPA have been neutralized," De Leon said, noting that these rebel leaders played crucial roles in the terror strategies of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
He said the NTF-ELCAC is on the right path to finally ending local communist armed conflict.
These numbers do not make any sense. 1,251 left plus 1,266 surrendered means there were 2,517 NPA fighters at the beginning of the year. But at the beginning of the year the National Security Council said there were less than 1,500 actual NPA fighters left.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1216269 |
An official of the National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday said the New People's Army (NPA) is at its weakest state ever in its 55th year of existence as it has "zero active guerilla fronts" and with less than 1,500 fighters remaining nationwide.
If there were less than 1,500 NPA fighters left in January how did 1,266 surrender in the first half of the year while 1,251 remain? Those calculations are impossible. Someone is wrong. Or everyone is wrong. This is not the first time the government has fudged the figures on the number of remaining NPA fighters.
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