The Philippine Army has intensified its operations against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Oriental following two shooting incidents in Canlaon City, an official said Thursday.
Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, said the military is working closely with the police to investigate the incidents, which may be connected.
“If the CTG (communist terrorist group) is responsible for the murders, it indicates that they continue to intimidate the public,” Jumawan said.
“I have instructed my men to continue without let-up our counter-insurgency operations,” he added.
Jumawan assessed that the NPA in Negros Oriental may have lost its “ideology” but has shifted to committing crimes such as intimidation and threats to extort money from the populace.
Although all NPA guerrilla fronts in the province have been dismantled, the remnants still possess the ability to carry out crimes, he said.
The first incident occurred on Sept. 23 when Jerome Calderon Caballes, 32, a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), was shot dead by unidentified assailants inside his house in Sitio Banban, Barangay Bucalan.
A week later, on Tuesday, a 30-year-old resident of Sitio Nabuluan, Barangay Binalbagan, a former barangay tanod (village watchman) and Elite Rescue Team responder, was also shot dead while driving home.
Bucalan and Binalbagan are neighboring barangays identified by the police and military as ISO (Internal Security Operations) zones, indicating that the presence of the NPA is still noticeable in these areas.
