New People's Army rebel killed in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental (File photo courtesy of 62IB, Philippine Army)
CEBU CITY – The government continues to win against insurgency in the Visayas this year, with 44 armed encounters leading to the death of 20 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels as of March 31.
There were also 27 fighters who surrendered and four who were apprehended, reported Visayas Command (Viscom) acting commander Commodore Oscar Canlas Jr. on Monday.
“The CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army) is now gasping for breath,” he said. “Their leaders continue to fall and they continue to lose valuable resources to foster their armed struggle. As such, we will sustain our momentum and will not allow them from gaining their foothold in the region, ever again.”
Apart from the losses in manpower, Viscom also disclosed that the NPA’s capability has degraded drastically with the seizure of 68 firearms.
“Our efforts will continue to be relentless,” Canlas said, calling on NPA remnants to surrender while they still can. “We will not hesitate to use our full military might to subdue the few remaining members of the terrorist group.” (PNA)
