The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) focused military operations in southern Palawan vowed to end the armed capability of the New People’s Army (NPA) before the end of the year.
Captain Wanel Ansa, environment unit and civil military officer of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-4 (MBLT-4), said the Joint Task Group South (JTGS) recovered a new set of war materiel on October 30 at Sitio Arib, Barangay Culasian, Rizal town in the southern part of the province.
“Napakalaking bagay ang pagka-diskubre dito sa mga NPA war materiel sa ating focused military operations. Dahil dito nabawasan ang kanilang firepower at napakalaking kawalan sa kanilang kapabilidad upang gumawa ng anumang karahasan o terroristic activities (Our continuous discovery of the NPA war materiel is very important to our focused military operations. This means we are diminuting their capability’s firepower to perpetuate violence and terroristic activities),” Ansa said.
Focused military operations have yielded 32 assorted firearms, one unit of fully assembled improvised explosive device (IED) or pipe bomb, 429 rounds of various ammunition, 16 pieces of magazine, 10 assorted IED components, innumerable subversive documents, and a total of 16 surrenderees.
To date, government troops have already had four encounters with the armed rebels in southern Palawan. The first discovery of war materiel was on June 27 when the military took over an NPA drill camp in Barangay Samariñana, Brooke’s Point. It was followed by the discovery of more materiel on July 21 following an encounter in Bataraza town.
“For the past decades, the arm struggle has not done anything good for our country. It has only induced poverty and miseries to the people. The best way to deal with the problem is for all sectors, all Filipinos to work together to end insurgency here in southern Palawan,” he added.
The best indication of this, he said, was the fact that the community was responsible in helping them find the hiding places of these war material that the NPA is using in sowing terror.
“Mismo ang taong bayan na nakikipagtulungan at kusang nagbibigay ng impormasyon upang matukoy ang mga kagamitang militar ng NPA (It is the people here who are working with us, and who are voluntarily offering information for us to find the NPA’s war supplies and tools),” Ansa said.
As a result, many have surrendered and are currently being processed to receive financial support from the national and local government’s social integration programs.
“The rebels’ armed capability has downgraded, and many of their members are now surrendering. We are sure that because of our FMO coupled with civil military operations, we have build up social pressure on them,” Ansa added.
All the war materiel recovered are currently being verified and under proper custody.
“Lahat ng mga nakuhang armas at dokumento ay idadaan sa masusing proseso at sa tamang pangangalaga (All the firearms, all the documents are being studied and are being taken care of properly),” he said.
Earlier, Western Command (WESCOM) commander Lt. General Galileo Gerard Kintanar Jr. said the focused military operations are balanced with civil military operations in their areas of operations.
"This only shows that the people are sick and tired of the crimes, atrocities and illegal activities of the communists terrorists in their area. And so, we also urge other communities to cooperate with us and report any information that would lead to the neutralization of personalities and capabilities of the enemies of peace," he said.
"Western Command shall continue to conduct focused military operations as well as civil military operations in Palawan in order to cripple and dismantle the communist terrorists in the Province to ensure that nothing and no one will stand in the way of progress and further development," Kintanar added.
President Rodrigo Duterte called on the NPA rebels to cease fighting the government, go back to the fold of the law, and rejoin mainstream society. The present administration has a pro-active program for their peaceful return that will enable them to rejoin their families and live normal lives.
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