Insurgency: Sandatahang Dahas Monitor

The NPA is weakening. Again. The evidence for this new weakening is medical times found in Samar in an abandoned NPA lair. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1254742

The recovery of medical apparatus and war materiel from an abandoned New People’s Army (NPA) lair in the mountains of Pinabacdao, Samar, indicates that rebels are getting old and sickly, an official of the Philippine Army (PA) said on Monday.

In a phone interview, Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the PA’s 802nd Infantry Brigade (IB), said many of the remaining NPA members are now "suffering from serious illnesses."

"Our call to them is not to waste the opportunity that the government is giving them to change their lives,” Vestuir said.

Vestuir thanked the community for their active support of the military and called for their continued cooperation as government troops intensify their efforts to end the local communist armed conflict in the area.

The official renewed his call to rebels to surrender following the recovery of several medical apparatuses by troops of the Army’s 63rd Infantry Battalion in an abandoned rebel lair in upland Canlobo village in Pinabacdao, Samar, on July 18.

Among those found are six intravenous (IV) cannulas, 17 packs of syringes, 10 catheters, two IV fluids, a digital blood pressure checker, and 14 surgical gloves.

Soldiers also recovered two portable generators, four high-explosive rifle grenades, a hand grenade, an improvised explosive device (IED), three remote IEDs, two SIM cards, 15 notebooks, seven hard drives, and other subversive documents.

Vestuir said the NPA rebels also decided to abandon some war materiel since they have no capability to carry them considering the declining number of physically able members.

The military said at present, there are only 13 NPA remnants roaming around the mountains of the southern part of Samar Island within the area covered by the Army’s 802nd IB.

It seems the evidence of being weakened is the material left behind. It means there is a "declining number of physically able members" able to carry all that stuff. Apparently there are only 13 NPA left in Southern  Samar. This seems like conjecture.  It's very probable and possible but there are other options that the AFP does not want to explore.  At least not publicly. 

In Bicol the AFP is determined to eliminate the last remaining NPA remnants and protect the people. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1254748

The Philippine Army's 9th Infantry Division's new commander, Maj. Gen. Aldwine Almase, assumed post Monday, vowing to crush New People's Army (NPA) rebels and protect Bicolanos. 

In his message during the change of command ceremony at Camp Elias Angeles in Pili, Camarines Sur, Almase said Joint Task Force Bicolandia is "ready to defend our people, country, and Constitution."

"We will further strengthen our organization through the efficient and effective use of resources for our operations,” he said in Filipino.

Almase said their forces would ensure the defeat of the NPA's Bicol Regional Party Committee.

He would also promote improved training including combined arms, joint and inter-agency operations, and humanitarian response.

“We will also further strengthen the capabilities of our maneuver battalions in warfare and reservists for humanitarian assistance and disaster response. We will strive to have mission-essential equipment to meet the needs of our forces and to further strengthen our operations,” he added.

Almase, the 19th commander of the Army's 9th ID of more than 6,000 soldiers in the region, is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Tanglaw-Diwa Class of 1992.

From January to June 2025 the AFP says 132 NPA rebels surrendered in Bicol. So, how many are left? They don't say. 

Another ex-rebel has defended the AFP.  This time it's the AFP's presence at UP Mindano.  

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/ex-rebel-defends-ph-armys-presence-at-up-mindanao

FORMER high-ranking communist rebel Jam “Ka Amihan” Saguino has dismissed allegations of militarization at the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin), asserting that the presence of the 11th Regional Community Defense Group (11RCDG), Reserve Command of the Philippine Army, on campus is legal, longstanding, and purely civic in nature.

Saguino, once a deputy secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and former NPA guerrilla commander, issued a Facebook statement amid growing calls to remove the reserve unit from its post in Barangay Bago Oshiro, where both UP Mindanao and the 11RCDG are located.

“There is no militarization in UP Mindanao,” Saguino said. “The call to remove the 11RCDG is not a defense of academic freedom. It is an attack on a misunderstood institution that has quietly served the country for decades.”

He emphasized that the 11RCDG is not a combat or surveillance force, but a civilian-oriented group of reservists, teachers, students, engineers, farmers, and professionals who are trained to respond to calamities, conduct relief operations, and participate in civic programs.

“They are not warfighters roaming campus grounds. They are volunteer reservists… ordinary Filipinos who undergo basic training so that when disaster strikes, they can serve their community,” he explained.

Saguino noted that the Army reserve unit has been stationed in Bago Oshiro since 1957, decades before UP Mindanao was established in 1995 through Republic Act 7889. He said that since then, both institutions have coexisted peacefully within the same government-designated area.

“UP Mindanao did not get militarized. It was built beside an existing, peaceful, civilian-support unit of the AFP,” he said.

“The 11RCDG doesn’t bring violence. It brings structure, readiness, and a sense of responsibility to community and country.”

He also warned that efforts to remove the 11RCDG are part of a wider strategy by radical elements to undermine government presence and create unhampered recruitment grounds for underground communist fronts.

“This tactic is not new. Demonize the uniform. Plant the fear. Make students distrust the government. Then fill that vacuum with an alternative narrative, one that glorifies rebellion,” Saguino said.

“The real agenda is not student safety, it's about weakening state presence in civilian spaces.”

Saguino, now an advocate for national reintegration and peace, defended ROTC and reserve training programs, saying they promote discipline, preparedness, and love for the country, not militarism.

“There is nothing oppressive about helping during a flood. There is nothing fascist about evacuating people during an earthquake. There is nothing militaristic about preparing young people to serve their fellow Filipinos in times of crisis,” he said.

He concluded his statement with a strong call to support the 11th Regional Community Defense Group, asserting that its presence does not undermine academic freedom but rather ensures the protection of democratic rights in times of crisis.

To recall, earlier this week, the UP Mindanao Council of Student Leaders endorsed a resolution passed by the UPMin All Student Councils Assembly (Asca) calling for the relocation of the 11RCDG from the university grounds. The resolution is set to be deliberated during the 59th General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) in UP Los Baños from August 7 to 9, 2025. Once adopted, it will form the basis for campaigns and legislative lobbying efforts across the UP system.

The resolution seeks to file a bill in the House of Representatives to reflect what student leaders describe as “legitimate demands of the UP Mindanao community.”

The RCDG, which facilitates ROTC training in the region, is situated on UP Mindanao property. However, critics within the university argue that its presence fosters campus militarization and undermines academic freedom.

Tensions escalated following the signing of a UP-AFP Declaration of Cooperation, which outlined collaborative projects between the university and military. Multiple university stakeholders, including the UP student, faculty, and staff regents, denounced the agreement, warning that it could normalize military presence and suppress dissent on campus. 

In a joint statement released on August 9, 2024, they argued the declaration aligns the university with human rights violations and political repression.

That sounds very reasonable but this: “The real agenda is not student safety, it's about weakening state presence in civilian spaces. "A free people do not want or need "state presence in civilian spaces." This seems to be something Filipinos cannot understand. 

Rappler has a rather interesting article about the recent flooding across the nation. 

https://www.rappler.com/philippines/visayas/developmental-aggression-blamed-floods-negros-occidental-july-2025/

Philippines – Environmental groups blamed widespread deforestation, mining, and quarrying for the four days of flooding that inundated many communities in southern Negros Occidental from July 17 to 20, displacing thousands and killing four.

The floods hit 18 towns and cities in the province’s 4th, 5th, and 6th districts, affecting 31,455 residents, with 22,652 of them forced into evacuation centers, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said.

The fatalities, all of whom drowned, included two from Binalbagan, and one each from Himamaylan and Sagay.

At least 6,000 hectares of newly planted rice fields in Bago City, Valladolid, and San Enrique were destroyed, affecting an estimated 12,000 farmers from the Federation of Irrigators’ Association of Central Negros-Bago Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS).

“We are definitely asking for help from the government. We need to start planting again,” said FIACN-BRIS president Pedro Limpangog.

The Department of Agriculture-Negros Island Region (DA-NIR) has yet to release a consolidated report on the full extent of the agricultural damage, although partial figures are being gathered through its real-time Management Information System (MIS), DA Regional Director Albert Barrogo said.

Environmental advocates said the destruction caused by flooding showed the long-term consequences of deforestation, unchecked mining and quarrying activities.

“The overall flooding scenario in the south of the province was mainly attributed to developmental aggression,” said Randy James Rojo, co-founder of the Group of Environmental Socialists (GOES).

Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region VI show extensive exploration and mining operations in the southern parts of the province. While most have expired exploration permits, at least two still have permits to operate until 2030 and 2035.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) also condemned quarry operations. In a statement, CPP-NPA spokesperson Dionesio Magbuelas said this was the reason they burned equipment used by a village chief in a quarry business in Sitio Medel, Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan on July 4.

Magbuelas said river quarrying harms not only the environment but also people’s livelihoods.

Who solicited the NPA for their opinion about the effects of quarry operations on local flooding? Why would Rappler include the statement of a terrorist organization in this report? This practically legitimizes the NPA's activities in burning down industrial equipment. There are a lot of questions here and the fact that this report has not blown up in the news means it likely has not been read by many. 

Here is the CPP-NPA's official statement.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2025/07/07/npa-negros-paralyzes-destructive-quarry-operations/

On July 4, THE New People’s Army (NPA)-South Central Negros (Romeo Nanta Command) disabled and set fire to two dump trucks and one backhoe used in the destructive quarry operations in Sitio Medel, Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental. The operation incurred damages amounting to ₱11 million.

The NPA carried this out to protect the community and the environment from the harm the quarry has long inflicted. The quarry has affected the farms and livelihoods of residents who depend on the river.

This article is not attributed to anyone but if you search the website for "Dionesio Magbuelas" it becomes clear that he is not a mere CPP-NPA spokesman but an NPA unit leader. 

NPA-South Central Negros (Romeo Nanta Command) spokesperson Dionesio Magbuelas also denied the military’s allegation that Binoy was a member of the people’s army. Ka Dionesio clarified that there was no NPA unit in the area of the incident and no encounter occurred.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/angbayan/94th-ib-kills-sugarcane-farmworker/

Rappler should really be taken to task for this article. There is no excuse for defending the terrorist actions of the NPA. 

Verafiles has a series of articles detailing the deaths of rebels and alleged rebels and government personnel which is rather interesting. 

https://verafiles.org/articles/june-was-deadliest-month-for-cpp-npa-sandatahang-dahas-monitor

Nearly half of the 38 killed in June were alleged insurgents making last month the deadliest for the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army halfway through 2025 based on Sandatahang Dahas, a monitor by the UP Third World Studies Center.

In June 2025, the Sandatahang Dahas monitor recorded 52 cases of state-related violence: 38 killings and 14 injuries. The killings of the 38 were attributed to the police and the military.

Of the 38, 18 were alleged members of CPP-NPA.

If three others allegedly affiliated with the Dawlah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf were to be included, the total number of alleged insurgents killed this month is 21. (Sandatahang Dahas uses “alleged insurgents” as a catchall category for anti-government forces that resort to political violence yet may have significant ideological differences and varying degrees of strength and legitimacy as a movement.)

June also comes in at a close second to March in terms of number of killings, with the latter having a total of 40 cases. However, with 14 cases, this month records the lowest number of injuries. Yet even with that small number, the police and the military, as with the killings, were the ones mainly responsible. State agents were involved in 11 of the 14 cases. In the three other cases, they were the ones on the receiving end.

Many of the killings this month were linked directly to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-led operations targeting suspected NPA members. From five cases in May, the number rose sharply to 18 in June. This was mainly due to multiple casualties in counterinsurgency operations. Of the eight encounters between the AFP and the CPP-NPA with casualties, four have at least three fatalities on the part of the CPP-NPA. In Northern Samar, five NPA casualties were reported. Leyte, Surigao del Norte, and Sultan Kudarat reported three NPA casualties each.

Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, stated that the military is encouraging rebels to surrender before the end-of-month deadline and return to their families through government programs. He warned that those who continue to fight may face the same fate as the NPA members killed in Carigara, Leyte.

But not all killings were the result of legitimate encounters.

In Surigao del Sur, Elioterio Ugking, a 25-year-old lumad farmer, was reported to have been accidentally shot by Jericho Campano, a member of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU). The victim’s family refutes the claim about his death, stating that the suspect allegedly bound and assaulted the victim before killing him. The retrieved belongings of Ugking also had multiple bloodstains and gunshot marks. It was also mentioned that the 9th Special Forces Company tried to bribe the victim’s family and neighbors to keep them from reporting the incident.

Police personnel were also responsible for 13 civilian deaths, mainly in the course of law enforcement operations. Most were targets of the operations; an exception is the case of Leo Vergel Fin Suico, a person with disability. A drunk Staff Sergeant Florante Peruchu Hoyle shot him dead. Suico was sleeping when the police officer barged into their house and shot him. The police reported that Hoyle could have mistaken Suico for someone else involved in a commotion moments before the killing.

In sum, of the 38 state-related killings, 35 were the result of the police’s and the military’s operations. Three of the deaths were attributed to other circumstances. This includes the case of Elioterio Ugking, a Lumad farmer; Leo Vergel Fin Suico, a PWD victim; and PSSg. Bobby Nanali, who was killed by his mother-in-law.

From 27 cases in May, the number of injured victims in state-related violence fell to 14 in June. May had the highest number of injuries inflicted on military and police personnel, totalling 15 cases. Conversely, half of the victims in June were civilians injured by the police and the military.

On June 22 in Pagadian City, Rechel Samo Nalzaro, wife of Jemboy Nalzaro, a Philippine Army enlisted personnel, refused to give her drunk husband PHP 2,000.00. He shot her in the foot. Since February, a total of eight similar incidents have been recorded where military and police personnel used their firearms in a domestic dispute.

If the police or the military personnel were not assaulting their partners when inebriated, they were taking it out on unsuspecting civilians. On June 21, in Batong Labang, Ilagan City, a stray bullet from a Glock 17 struck a 22-year-old female student in the right shoulder. The perpetrator was later identified as a corporal from the 5th Infantry Division Philippine Army in Gamu, Isabela.

In other cases, the civilians injured were the targets of police and military operations. On June 3, at midnight, the Bacolod City police received a report that a man in a computer shop was carrying a firearm. When the police approached the man identified as Jojo Arnaiz, he opened fire on the responding officers, who returned fire, wounding him before he was taken into custody.

Since the establishment of the Sandatahang Dahas monthly monitor, new cases have been emerging in various provinces that were not recorded before. In June 2025, incidents were reported for the first time in Cagayan, Eastern Samar, Nueva Ecija, Surigao del Norte, and Zamboanga del Norte. This geographic spread signals a broadening scope of conflict and operations.

Halfway into 2025, state-related violence tallied a total of 179 killings and 173 injuries throughout the country. Amidst these incidents, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. stated in his speech during the commemoration of the 83rd Araw ng Kagitingan that “the solution to war is not more war, and that the solution to war is only peace—an honorable peace that is arrived at by the different parties involved and having a hand and a voice in achieving that peace.” The monthly monitor shows the contradictions between President Marcos’s claim and the actions of the state.

With insurgency-related fatalities reaching a new peak in June, the coming months will be crucial in understanding whether these figures represent an isolated spike or an emerging pattern in the conduct of state forces.

This is a very important and interesting article but it is tainted with sentences like "If the police or the military personnel were not assaulting their partners when inebriated, they were taking it out on unsuspecting civilians." That could be said more neutrally.  Neutrality is what is sorely needed in covering topics like the insurgency.