• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
With the Christmas and New Year celebrations fast approaching, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Visayas Command (Viscom) called on the New People’s Army (NPA) remnants to return to the fold of the law, before it will be too late for them.
“You are fighting a losing cause. Every move you make could be your last. Imagine your family, they will be so much happier to celebrate the holiday with you,” Viscom chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the AFP, Viscom is not observing the traditional suspension of offensive military operations this yuletide season.
In a statement, Viscom said it sustained its victory against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army in the Visayas region, citing the continuing reduction of both manpower and armed capability of the local terrorist group.
Following the conduct of the Campaign Progress Review and Assessment, Viscom reports indicated that from Oct.1 to date, it has initiated 38 armed encounters, with 125 NPA terrorists neutralized, of which 81 were in Eastern Visayas and 44, in Western and Central Visayas.
Of the 125 neutralized rebels, 12 died in encounters, including six each in Eastern and Western Visayas, while 113 others returned to the fold of the law.
A total of 102 firearms and 28 anti-personnel mines were also seized by government troops.
Arevalo said that they will continue to be relentless and will never hold back to further weaken the NPA remnants to a point where they can no longer recover.
He noted that the severe loss of manpower and armed capability of the NPA led to the dismantling of four guerilla fronts in the Visayas region this year as concurred by the National Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (NJPSCC).
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division operating in Western and Central Visayas also reported the dismantling of six of the nine guerilla fronts in two regions, four of which are in Negros Island.
However, the inclusion of Central Negros 1 and 2 in the list of among the four dismantled guerilla fronts in Negros Island have yet to be concurred by the NJPSCC.
“We have achieved so much in our fight against terrorism. We have protected our people, sustained the peace, fostered development, and preserved the democratic way of life in the Visayas region,” Arevalo said. | GB
