From new roads to new surrenders the insurgency continues to weaken this week. In N. Samar 282 NPA rebels and allied decided to avail of the government's bribery program.
The surrender of 282 New People’s Army (NPA) fighters and die-hard supporters in Silvino Lubos, Northern Samar has further weakened the communist terrorist group in the province, a Philippine Army official said on Thursday.
Lt. Col. Ferdinand Engcot, commander of the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion, said in a phone interview the mass surrender is a big blow to the NPA since majority of the surrenderers have been their source of strength, logistics, supplies, and information.
Those who formally withdrew support include 65 members of the NPA Yunit Militia, 65 members of Batakang Organisasyon ng Pampartido, and 152 Legal na Organisadong Masa.
“These underground mass organization and mass base supporters of the communist terrorist bandits pledge allegiance to the Philippine government and withdraw their support to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF),” Engcot said.
Empty promises, rebel’s extortion activities, and challenges brought by the health crisis prompted the NPA members and supporters to abandon the communist ideology.
The 282 NPA members and supporters signed a pledge of allegiance on Aug. 27 at the town auditorium and joined a peace rally held around the town center. They also burned the CPP-NPA-NDF flags.
It appears that only 65 of these people are actual NPA fighters with the rest being their supporters. Their surrender process included signing a pledge of allegiance but to what we are not told. Who in their right mind would pledge allegiance to the corrupt incompetent government of the Philippines? Maybe they pledged allegiance to the flag and to the republic, the Philippines is a republic, for which it stands. At any rate the then engaged in a bit of political theater by joining a peace rally and burned CPP-NPA-NDA flags which were likely provided by the AFP.
Last week a group of farmers and villagers also gathered for a bit of political theater.
A group of farmworkers and other villagers in Barangay E. Lopez, Silay City, Negros Occidental burned the communist-terrorist flags and pledged allegiance to the government in a ceremony held at the village covered court on Aug. 28.
Villagers also denounced the atrocities and lies of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), in the presence of Mayor Mark Golez and officials of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police.
In a statement on Sunday, Lt. Col. J-jay Javines, commanding officer of the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion, commended the move of residents in condemning the acts of communist-terrorist groups (CTGs) and their allied organizations.
“This clearly shows that the peace-loving residents of E. Lopez can no longer endure the suffering. Their pledge to withdraw their support from the armed group is a bold step towards ending insurgency,” he said.
About 250 individuals, most of them members of Hacienda Culahao-C Farmer Workers Association (HACUFWA) and Hacienda Nenita Farmer Workers Association (HANFAWA), took their oath of allegiance to the Philippine government before village chief Meriam Gallego.
During the activity initiated by the 32nd Civil-Military Operations Battalion and the 1st Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company (NOCPMFC), the participants signed the resolution of the Barangay Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (BTF-ELCAC) condemning and declaring as persona non grata groups aiding communist-terrorists in committing terroristic and criminal acts that violate the people’s rights.
Of course this activity was INITIATED by the AFP. All these activities are. It's a psy-op. What they want is the appearance that an overwhelming number of villagers have denounced the NPA in a wholly organic manner. Then the rebels surrender and get a sizable livelihood package.
The Northern Luzon Command Chief says he sees the NPA in his region weakening due to continuing surrendering.
The Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) on Sunday said the end is in sight for communist insurgency in Northern and Central Luzon following the continuous surrender of rebels.
For the first five days of this month alone, seven members of the New People’s Army (NPA) returned to the fold of the law and yielded eight firearms.
There were also 595 former rebels who surrendered from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 this year and turned over 235 firearms.
“It’s only a matter of time before the NPA will be totally eradicated in this part of the country,” Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., Nolcom commander, said in a statement.
Burgos renewed his call to the remnants of the communist terrorists and their supporters to give up armed struggle and avail of the various programs of the government that could help them start new and peaceful lives with their loved ones.
“The government has heard your pleas and has implemented several programs to address your concerns. Now is the time for you to heed the call of the government. Lay down your arms and abandon your armed struggle. Think of your families, think of their future. Christmas is fast approaching, they will be happier and more fulfilled this season of joy with you by their side,” he added.
It is very bold of him to say that the NPA will be "totally eradicated" after they all surrender. They won't be eradicated it all. They will be bribed into rejoining the community. It won't be much different from when the Americans integrated Nazi scientists into NASA.
But why bribe these rebels to surrender when the AFP admits they are brutal killers?
Fifteen years after the discovery of the remains of the victims of the Inopacan massacre perpetrated by the New People’s Army (NPA) in the 1980s, more groups are joining the cause to end the atrocities of communist terrorist groups.
Thousands of bikers will join a ride for justice event on Saturday in Leyte and Samar Island and other parts outside Eastern Visayas to raise awareness on NPA purging activities, the Philippine Army said in a press briefing on Friday.
“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them,” Brig. Gen. Zosimo Oliveros, commander of the Army’s 802nd Brigade, said.
He said the Department of the Interior and Local Government issued a memorandum directing field officials to facilitate the cycling event.
“The Regional Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict together with bikers and civic groups are working hand in hand to create awareness to the public about the heinous and inhumane crimes by the NPA,” Oliveros added.
On Aug. 28, 2006, the skeletons of 67 individuals were unearthed from shallow graves in Caulisihan village through the help of residents.
The mass purging, tagged by the NPA as Oplan Venereal Disease, claimed the lives of about 300 residents in Leyte province, based on estimates of former rebels and the victims’ relatives.
According to accounts of the military and witnesses, most of the victims bore brutal marks of crushed skulls still wrapped with blindfolding cloth.
They suffered severe flesh wounds and broken bones even before they were shot several times.
After the mass grave discovery, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, under then Chief of Staff and now National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, filed 15 counts of murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court against Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison and 37 others for their alleged involvement in the massacre.
Surely a bike ride will bring justice to the dead. In the meantime the taxpayers should dig deep so they can provide a nice livelihood package for the ideological brothers of those killers when they choose to surrender.
On the other hand the NPA is also said to be weakening because of the death of a top official which means inexperienced members will now have to run the show.
Following the death of two New People’s Army (NPA) rebels this week, including a high-ranked official, the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) said it will be a big blow to the communist terrorist group as its fate is now left in the hands of inexperienced members.
EastMinCom chief, Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, in a statement on Friday, said the death of one alias Asyong will weaken the SYP Platoon 16C1, Guerrilla Front 16, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) of the NPA.
Asyong, the vice commander and political officer of the NEMRC faction, was killed by troops of the 30th Infantry Battalion (IB) in a 15-minute encounter with a group of 10 rebels led by Roel Neniel alias Jacob in Barangay Cagdianao, Claver, Surigao del Norte on Sept. 2.
Two AK-47 rifles and an M14 rifle with magazines and bandolier were recovered.
“We abhor the idea of bloodshed and we do not want to see another rebel dying for the sake of the communist terrorist group. Therefore, I ask the remaining NPA members to surrender peacefully instead of wasting their lives on a senseless ideology,” Almerol said.
But it always comes back to bribing the remaining NPA to surrender.
In Mindanao 12 BIFF fighters surrendered this week.
Twelve Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) who said they were deceived into joining the terror group surrendered to the military on Monday afternoon.
The surrendering batch, all members of the BIFF-Bungos faction, turned in an M16 rifle, two M14 rifles, two homemade .50 caliber sniper rifles, two .30 caliber sniper rifles, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two improvised explosive devices, explosives, and ammunition.
An alias Sudan, one of the surrenderers, said they are tired of fighting, and most of the time, running from pursuing military forces in the mountains of Maguindanao.
“We were further disappointed upon learning that we were duped as they promised to pay us a huge amount monthly (but) it never happened,” Sudan said in a phone patch interview.
He said the BIFF batch is currently undergoing custodial debriefing, while their livelihood assistance packages are being processed by the Shariff Saydona Mustapha town government.
It's odd how in order to get the full picture you have to read every news paper in the country. This article tells us that they were deceived into doing the group. The Manila Times tells that one of the people was a Commander while Philstar tells us that at least three admitted to being bomb makers while all 12 were followers of a notorious and wanted terrorist.
Twelve more followers of wanted terrorist Kagui Karialan surrendered to the military Monday and pledged allegiance to the government in the presence of local officials.
The group yielded through the efforts of the 6th Infantry Battalion and the 1st Mechanized Brigade that had jointly secured the surrender of more than 30 other members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in the past eight weeks.
The 12 belonged to a BIFF faction led by the religious extremist Karialan, who is facing more than 30 criminal cases in different courts and known for fomenting animosity towards non-Muslims.
The 12 BIFF members, three of them confessed bomb-makers, turned in 10 assorted firearms, 40 millimeter grenade launchers, B40 anti-tank rocket launchers and improvised explosive devices during a simple rite at the headquarters of the 1st Mechanized Brigade in Ampatuan town.
Knowing all that how could anyone fall for the lie that these men were "deceived into joining" the BIFF? It's more likely that they were upset that they did not receive the money they were promised. Now the government will cough up, or excuse me, the taxpayers will cough up and provide a nice livelihood package for three bomb makers, one commander, and 8 other terrorists. Between them how many people have they killed?
In Butuan City a new farm-to-market road is helping to fight the insurgency.
The 402nd Infantry “Stingers” Brigade (402Bde) participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) in Barangay Camayahan, Butuan City on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
The groundbreaking activity was led by the Assistant Secretary for Public Safety and Security Alexander L. Macario of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); Mayor Ronnie Vicente C. Lagnada of Butuan City; and Regional Director Lilibeth Famacion, DILG Caraga.
“The FMR will provide the residents of Barangay Camayahan a direct link to the market and trading centers in Butuan City and to the other towns in Agusan del Norte. The road is vital to the farmers in the area,” Col. Orio said.
Barangay Camayahan is among the farming communities in Butuan City where farmers are engaged in production of palay, corn, vegetables, and varieties of high-value crops. Around 350 families from Barangay Camayahan will directly benefit from the road project.
“Far-flung communities have suffered enough from the activities of the NPAs for years. The conflicts caused by these insurgents also hindered government development initiatives such as roads and other important infrastructures,” Col. Orio said.
How did these farmers transport their crops for decades without having a road? An issue like this is not about the insurgency but about an incompetent government that does not care about its constituents. And now they are tooting their own horns about building this road to provide for the community.
