The New People's Army on Saturday admitted that it had launched 30 operations against the military after calling off its unilateral ceasefire as it directed its armed militias for “heightened armed resistance” against the government’s all-out war declaration
“Over the past 10 days, responding to orders to carry out active defense, NPA units carried out almost 30 military actions to defend the rights and welfare of the people primarily against AFP troops,” NPA spokesman Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos said.
“No longer restricted by the active defense policy, the NPA, from hereon, must frustrate the all-out war of suppression of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] by launching tactical offensives against any legitimate military target,” he added.
One of the operations carried out by the Communist Party of the Philippines’ armed wing, was made last Feb. 1 where they killed three soldiers. The incident prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to scrap the peace talks with the communists.
“NPA operations were launched exclusively against paramilitary groups and uniformed personnel conducting combat, intelligence and psywar operations within the territories of the revolutionary government. A case in point is the Feb. 1 encounter between the NPA and troops of the 8th IB which had been occupying Barangays Kibalabag and Manalog, 36 kilometers from the center of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon,” Madlos said.
NDF senior adviser Luis Jalandoni earlier branded the incident as a “rubout,” while the military described the incident as a complete “overkill.”
Madlos said that included in the NPA’s list of targets are active members of the AFP, Philippine National Police, AFP militiamen, police detachments and military camps.
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines urged Saturday rebel forces not to attack soldiers who are tasked to bring aid to victims of the earthquake that hit Surigao del Norte province Friday night.
“We urge you not to attack our soldiers, or in any other way disrupt the AFP’s rescue and rehabilitation activities for our people,” AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Edgard Arevalo, said Saturday.
“Allow the soldiers every opportunity to help the victims of the earthquake.”
Immediately after the magnitude-6.7 earthquake hit Surigao City, 4th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. immediately deployed his men to assist the victims of the quake and conduct damage assessment.
Meanwhile, 30th Infantry Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Rico Amaro also coordinated with the respective risk reduction and management offices of Surigao del Norte and Surigao City for disaster response operations.
“Troops, vehicles and the ambulance of the 30th Infantry Battalion were prepositioned for casualty evacuation and the evacuation of affected families,” Arevalo added.
At about 7 a.m. Saturday, 402nd Infantry Brigade head Col. Franco Nemesio Gacal, proceeded to Surigao City for a disaster response emergency meeting at the provincial capitol of Surigao del Norte.
“[The headquarters of the] 402nd Infantry Brigade alerted additional troops and vehicles for possible complementary disaster response operations in the affected areas in Surigao del Norte,” Arevalo said.
“Continue to carry out your duties and be ready to embark on the task of assisting local and national governments. But be on the look out for those who might be out to sabotage your rescue and rehabilitation efforts,” AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año reminded his soldiers.
Last week, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the AFP is launching an all-out war against the NPA following President Duterte’s suspension of peace talks with the rebel group.
Before suspending the peace talks, Duterte declared that he is lifting the government’s unilateral ceasefire declaration.
The announcement was made after the CPP-NPA lifted its own ceasefire declaration.
Delfin had also announced that despite Duterte’s declaration, he is still open to talks with the communist rebels.
Madlos, meanwhile, also reiterated that the NPA is still willing to talk with the government.
“The NPA remains open to peace talks while fighting rages in the countryside,” he said.
On Friday, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison urged his former student, President Rodrigo Duterte to continue with the peace negotiations with the communists to clarify “misunderstandings” which he said were instigated by peace “spoilers.”
Malacañang, however, told the communist rebels to show their sincerity in continuing before any peace talks can continue.
“The NPA needs to show that it’s truly sincere if they’re interested to continue the peace talks,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told state radio dzRB.
Reiterating that there seems to be a “disconnect” between the CPP’s leaders currently in exile and their ground forces here in the country, Abella said that the CPP’s leadership should fix their internal issues before talking with the government.
“We said that there’s seem to be a disconnect between the leadership above and those who are in the ground below—that’s internal and they should be the ones who should fix those issues,” he added. With PNA
