Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army)
ORMOC CITY, Leyte – The Philippine Army is stepping up efforts to foil the attempts of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) to recover 20 previously-influenced villages in Eastern Visayas, a top official said on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, the Army’s 8th Infantry Division commander, said the 20 villages situated in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Leyte provinces are vulnerable to infiltration given the recent sightings of NPA combatants in those areas.
“The rebels are hiding in the mountains, far from communities, but we are making sure that these villages will not be influenced again. We have retooled community support program (RCSP) teams there to prevent possible infiltration,” Ligayo said during an interview here.
The RCSP is a strategy that deploys teams tasked to identify issues and concerns in remote communities threatened by the NPA. These issues will be raised to the concerned government agencies and local government units to be addressed accordingly.
From 2019 to 2022, the military managed to clear 368 villages in the region influenced by rebels. These communities used to have organized groups supporting the NPA’s armed struggle.
Only last year, about 3,505 members of organized NPA mass supporters in the influenced communities surrendered to authorities across the region.
“Their strength is now diminishing, and that trend is irreversible following the surrender of their leaders. The surrenderers have been helping us in our campaign to end insurgency in the region,” Ligayo said.
Only two NPA guerilla fronts in Samar Island remain in existence after the dismantling of one front and the weakening of another during the first quarter of this year.
Ligayo said the rebel’s Front Committee 2 operating in the boundary of Samar and Northern Samar has been demolished after the capture and surrender of some of their combatants and recovery of firearms.
The NPA Front Committee 3, which operates near the boundaries of Northern and Eastern Samar, has also weakened after the series of operations conducted by government forces, according to Ligayo.
The Army official expressed optimism that the two remaining NPA guerilla fronts in Northern Samar will also fall within this year. (PNA)
