5 Southern Tagalog provinces cleared of Reds, Army says

THE military declared on Tuesday that it has cleared five provinces in Southern Luzon of communist insurgents, and has forced the surrender of at least 702 rebels in an operational victory against the New People’s Army (NPA).

The Army’s 2nd Infantry Division issued the report through its spokesman Capt. Jayrald Ternio as the NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), observed its 52nd year anniversary celebration on Monday.

The CPP, through its central committee, encouraged its armed wing to withstand the government’s operation with its mass-based support, adding its guerilla fronts have increased and practically present across the country.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has thwarted plans by the rebels to carry out attacks in Metro Manila in marking its anniversary through its operations in Batangas that led to the seizure of firearms.

The 2ndid said it has cleared Cavite; Romblon; Marinduque; Laguna and Batangas from the influence of rebels. These provinces, the Army said, have been declared as having “Stable Internal Peace and Security,” or SIPS, after meeting the parameters set under the military’s phases of normalization, specifically on the absence of recorded NPA violent activities for at least one year.

On the other hand, it has also forced the surrender of a total of 702 former rebels since 2016 wherein around 393 have availed of the government’s reintegration program, which could provide up to P700,000 in grants and benefits, while 309 are still processed.

The division has also neutralized 29 rebels in combat, while 58 were captured in law-enforcement operations since last year as part of the intensified campaign in fully eradicating the insurgency in Southern Tagalog.

“Today, instead of celebrating, they shall only begin to accept their irrelevance to the Philippine history with 2nd ID’S continuous decimation of its forces in our area of responsibility,” said Brig. Gen. Rommel Tello, acting commander of the Army’s 2nd ID.

Meanwhile, PNP chief General Debold Sinas said that they foiled plans by the NPA to deploy urban guerilla units with a mission to conduct terrorist activities in Metro Manila.

He said the thwarted plans are part of the Communist Party of the Philippines and NPA efforts to revive armed city partisan units, while preparing hit squads based in the countryside that could be deployed to cities on missions.

“The PNP’S intensified anti-criminality and anti-terrorism drive in Calabarzon, led by the CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] and in cooperation with the local police units of PRO4A [Police Regional Office 4A], resulted in the seizure of several high-powered firearms and explosives believed to have been acquired by the CPP-NPA as part of its plan to commit attacks against government forces in connection with the pronouncement of the top leadership of the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Sinas said.