BUTUAN CITY – The communist New People’s Army (NPA) and its leadership are employing "desperate dirty moves" to discredit the members of the Police Regional Office-Caraga (PRO-13).
In a statement Tuesday (March 16), PRO-13 said the NPA recently disseminated leaflets containing baseless accusations alleging that the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the region are involved in extrajudicial killings, "the filing of cases without evidence, and the claim of the forced surrender of civilians as rebels".
PRO-13 belied all the allegations, noting that all the law enforcement operations conducted by its police units "are legitimate and based on arrest and search warrants issued by the courts".
It said all suspects, "regardless of status in life," were given the opportunity to seek legal assistance to defend themselves in courts.
“The NPA is already desperate with the series of arrests of their members who are wanted for heinous crimes,” PRO-13 said, adding that the communist rebel movement is reeling from the "the continuing surrender of its members and mass supporters".
“The series of surrenders NPA in Caraga Region are proofs that many of their members and mass supporters have come to realize that there is no future in the armed struggle,” the regional police office said.
Despite the NPA's black propaganda, PRO-13 vowed that it would intensify its partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against insurgency and terrorism in the region.
In fact, PRO-13 said it was the NPA that should be held criminally liable "as they continue to kill innocent civilians, sow terror in communities while committing crimes of extortion and arson".
The NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
