Surigao Norte ‘insurgency-free’

A relentless campaign seeks to annihilate the remaining forces of the CTG’s guerrilla fronts.

The government has freed another province from the scourge of communist rebellion af ter Surigao del Norte was declared cleared of insurgency.

Amid this latest development in the country’s fight against insurgency, the Eastern Mindanao Command or EastMinCom of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday vowed there would be “no let-up” in the operations against the communist terrorist group.

AFP’s EastMinCom Commander, Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, said a relentless campaign seeks to annihilate the remaining forces of the CTG’s guerrilla fronts.

Citing military data from January to March, Almerol said the EastMinCom had neutralized 74 members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.

Of this, he said, 62 have surrendered, four were captured, and eight died during encounters.

The military also captured 71 firearms, with 58 high-powered and 13 low-powered, as well as recovered eight anti-personnel mines and discovered one enemy hideout.

Almerol lauded the soldiers for their unwavering commitment to their military mandate, noting that their self-sacrifices “has contributed immensely to the outstanding achievements of the Command since the beginning of the year.”

“With your commitment and dedication to upholding our mission, we will meet this challenge head-on and emerge victorious in safeguarding our nation’s peace and security,” he said.

AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. earlier ordered the troops to become more aggressive in resolving the country’s insurgency problem.

“With the timeline given to us by the Chief of Staff, I am confident that we can adhere to it and finish the remaining guerrilla fronts in our area of operations,” Almerol said.