The AFP has released another update and the number of Reds neutralized this year. Last time it was 654 between January 1st and May 21st. This time the number is only slightly different.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1277415 |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said a total of 709 New People's Army (NPA) communist insurgents and their allies were neutralized from Jan. 1 to June 11 this year.
"Neutralized" is a military term which refers to the surrender, capture or killing of enemy troops.
In an interview with reporters late Tuesday afternoon, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said this can be broken down into 621 surrendered, 31 arrested and 57 killed in various military operations nationwide.
In the same period, Padilla said 503 assorted firearms were either captured or surrendered along with 122 anti-personnel mines.
Also captured in the same period were 30 NPA encampments, she added.
"Beyond the numbers, the real measure of success is that more and more communities are living in peace and in safe conditions. This is also reflected on the larger numbers of surrenders as opposed to those results in operations," the AFP spokesperson said.
Last year, the military said that its units have neutralized 2,018 NPA members and its supporters.
Of the 2,018 communist insurgents and followers neutralized, 1,798 have surrendered, 93 arrested and 127 killed in various military operations nationwide.
"A total of 1,134 firearms and 531 anti-personnel mines were either seized or surrendered (during this period)," the AFP said.
It also added that a total of 149 NPA encampments were also captured from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of last year.
As ever, without breaking down the numbers into supporters and actually rebels this number means nothing. 709 is closer to the last estimated number of remaining rebels, 780, but it's not clear how many actual rebels are left. And how are there more supporters than there are actual rebels? These numbers make no sense.
The Calabarzon region was declared insurgency-free on June 12th.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2026/06/13/calabarzon-declared-insurgency-free-on-independence-day |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of the Interior and Local Government on Friday, June 12, declared the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) region insurgency free, the first in the country this year.
The Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) Status was awarded during the SIPS Seal Awarding and Declaration Ceremony at the Quezon Convention Center here in the presence of DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla, local government officials, and high-ranking military officers in the region.
The declaration was built on a series of provincial milestones achieved over the years.
Cavite became the first province in the region to be declared under SIPS in 2018 and was subsequently revalidated in 2024
Laguna followed in 2019 and was revalidated in 2026, while Batangas attained its declaration in 2021. Quezon achieved its SIPS declaration in 2023, followed by Rizal in 2024.
Calabarzon became the first region in the country to attain a SIPS status. It is one of the country’s major centers of industry, tourism, agriculture, and commerce, where peace continues to create opportunities for growth, investment, and development.
The declaration served as a recognition of the gains achieved and a reminder that sustaining peace requires continued vigilance, strong partnerships, and shared responsibility.
Of course they could have made this declaration any day of the week over the past few years but they waited until independence day for optics.
The NTF-ELCAC says this region, also known as Southern Tagalog, has rejected the ideals of the NPA.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1277418 |
A ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said on Wednesday that the declaration placing Southern Tagalog (also known as Calabarzon) under "Stable Internal Peace and Security" (SIPS) is a clear sign that the people in the region have rejected the ideals of the communist insurgents.
"Peace works. Development works. Democracy works," NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a statement.
He also called the SIPS declaration for Southern Tagalog on June 12 a historic rejection of Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) violence by one of the insurgents' biggest former strongholds.
Torres also emphasized that communities prosper not through violence and armed struggle, but through unity, cooperation, and shared aspirations.
"The story of Southern Tagalog proves that no insurgency is stronger than a united people determined to build a better future for their children," he said.
Likewise, the NTF-ELCAC executive said this SIPS declaration marks not only a major security milestone but, more importantly, a victory earned by the people of Southern Tagalog after decades of conflict, intimidation, and underdevelopment.
"This is a moment that Southern Tagalog should celebrate with pride. For more than five decades, the CPP-NPA-NDF sought to establish deep roots in the region. Today, the people of Southern Tagalog have delivered their verdict. They have rejected violence, rejected armed struggle, and chosen peace, development, and democracy," he added.
Southern Tagalog's SIPS declaration comes amid a growing wave of peace gains across the country. Since 2018, a total of 58 provinces have attained SIPS status.
The provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur have likewise achieved the milestone. Some regions, such as Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Western Visayas, have been declared insurgency-free and placed under SIPS, while Caraga is expected to make its own regional declaration on June 18.
Torres said these developments demonstrate the steady weakening of communist insurgency nationwide and the growing success of the government's whole-of-nation approach to peace and development.
The NTF-ELCAC executive described the SIPS declaration for Southern Tagalog as unique, noting that the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon were regarded by communist leaders as critical to their revolutionary ambitions, as the region's mountains, agricultural communities, urban centers, and educational institutions became targets of recruitment, organization, and armed operations.
"The declaration of SIPS is not merely the absence of armed conflict. It is the restoration of normal life. It means communities can focus on development instead of security threats. It means children can dream bigger. It means local governments can concentrate on building roads, schools, health facilities, livelihoods, and economic opportunities,” he said.
This achievement, he added, belongs first and foremost to the people of Southern Tagalog.
"We celebrate the barangays that stood firm against intimidation. We celebrate the families who protected their children from recruitment and chose hope over hatred. We celebrate former rebels who embraced reconciliation and proved that peace is always possible," he said.
Likewise, Torres said the NTF-ELCAC celebrates local leaders who brought government services to communities long neglected by conflict, along with teachers, religious leaders, civil society partners, peace advocates, soldiers, police officers, and public servants who dedicated years of their lives to protecting communities and advancing development.
"But above all, we celebrate the ordinary people of Southern Tagalog. Their courage, resilience, and unwavering faith in a better future accomplished what decades of violence never could. They proved that peace is stronger than fear, hope is stronger than extremism, and unity is stronger than division," he said.
See that? It's not about the absence of armed conflict. It's about "restoration of normal life," i.e good governance.
Caraga has also been given a SIPS status or Stable Internal Peace and Security.
The entire Caraga Region was formally declared under a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) on Thursday, marking the culmination of decades of efforts to end insurgency in the area.
The declaration was made at a gathering of governors, mayors, government line agencies, the private sector, and former combatants of the New People's Army (NPA) in Butuan City.
Top government officials, including Undersecretary Angelito De Leon of the Department of National Defense; Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., Executive Director of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict; and Undersecretary Jonathan Ferdinand Miano of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, were present.
"For decades, many parts of our region bore the burdens of insurgency, instability, and underdevelopment, with communities living with uncertainty, opportunities were limited, investments hesitated, and progress slowed down," Butuan City Mayor Lawrence Lemuel Fortun said.
The declaration of SIPS, he added, is the collective accomplishment of the entire region, including the steadfast efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police, government agencies, local government units, and community support.
The declaration came after all provinces and Butuan City were declared insurgency-free, following the collapse of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA.
Agusan del Norte was declared insurgency-free on June 5; Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, and Butuan City on June 15; Dinagat Islands on Dec. 12, 2014; and Surigao del Norte on March 15, 2024.
Lt. Gen. Adonis Ariel Orio, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, represented the AFP Chief of Staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner.
"The declaration is proof of how far the Caraga Region has come, from years of conflict and uncertainty to a future of stability and opportunities," Brawner said in his message, as delivered by Orio.
Aljon Intano, president of the United Caraganon for Peace and Development Federation, Inc. (UCPDFI), expressed hope for former rebels with the SIPS declaration.
"The former rebels in the Caraga Region are thankful for being part of the declaration of SIPS in the whole region," Intano said, representing the former rebels.
He added that the declaration will allow hundreds of former rebels still staying in military camps for security reasons to reunite with their families and communities and live peacefully.
A Peace Marker was unveiled during the activity, led by Torres and De Leon and witnessed by government and local chief executives.
Participants also signed a pledge of commitment for peace, committing to build a just society where every individual has equal opportunities and protection under the law, and to continue counterinsurgency initiatives in pursuit of permanent peace and development
While this comes "following the collapse of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA" there is no doubt the AFP will continue to monitor the region to ensure there is no resurgence of the NPA.
The Cordillera Administrative Region has also been declared insurgency-free.
https://mb.com.ph/2026/06/19/cordillera-region-declared-insurgency-free
The Cordillera Administrative Region, composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, as well as the cities of Baguio and Tabuk, was declared insurgency free and under a Stable Internal Peace and Security status during the Regional Peace and Order Council second-quarter full council meeting in Baguio City on Thursday.
RPOC Chairperson and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong presided over the meeting where Resolution No. 3, Series of 2026, containing the declaration was adopted.
The resolution was introduced by Col. Darrel Bañez, deputy commander of the 503rd Infantry Brigade, and acting brigade commander Col. Davice Christopher Mercado.
A SIPS is declared when authorities determine that insurgent groups no longer possess the capability to conduct sustained armed operations in a particular area.
The resolution cited years of coordinated security operations, peace-building initiatives, and close collaboration among the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), local government units, and communities across the Cordillera as key factors behind the achievement.
Police Regional Office-Cordillera Director Police Brig. Gen. Ericson Dilag and 5th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Gulliver Siñeres are expected to sign the resolution together with Magalong before it is sent to the National Peace and Order Council chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The military and police said the resolution follows similar assessments and declarations previously issued on the provincial and city levels after authorities reported the dismantling of local insurgent structures and the absence of significant rebel-related activities.
With the declaration, security agencies are expected to transition from counterinsurgency operations to sustaining peace through law enforcement, governance, and development programs.
Now the government will "transition from counterinsurgency operations to sustaining peace." Did they forget that good governance through the whole-of-nation approach IS counterinsurgency?
These declarations notwithstanding the NPA remains a deadly threat.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2026/06/15/couple-shot-dead-at-home-in-guihulngan-city |
Unidentified armed men killed a couple in their house in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Friday, June 12.
Police Capt. Stephen Polinar, Negros Oriental police spokesperson, identified the victims as Efren, 32, and his wife Jean, 27.
Initial information revealed that Jean was an alleged victim of sexual abuse while her husband was allegedly a notorious robber in the area. Police said these are subject to verification.
Due to a security threat, police coordinated with the Army before proceeding to the barangay.
The New People’s Army (NPA) claimed responsibility and tagged the victims as military assets.
Communist rebels also claimed another shooting incident on Friday in Barangay Budlasan, Canlaon City, Negros Oriental. The victim was identified as Anthony of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
Police are conducting follow-up investigations.
Well, at least one of these persons was an accused robber so maybe it was not the NPA? How can the AFP even verify the NPA's statement? What proof is there they were military assets? Surely the AFP won't tell the public that.
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