IPs being used by Reds to stop military offensives

From the Manila Bulletin (Dec 14): IPs being used by Reds to stop military offensives

Indigenous peoples (IPs) are being used by New People’s Army (NPA) terrorists to stop the all-out military and police offensives against them.

Chief Supt. Noli A. Romana, regional director of Northeastern Mindanao Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) on Thursday claimed that the evacuation of the IPs in Lianga, Surigao del Sur is allegedly part of the deceptive tactics of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) terrorists.

Romana said the “bakwits” of lumad (natives) are supported by only a few militant groups in the area in an effort to stop the all-out offensive by the military and police against the NPA terrorists.

“Our combat operations are directed against the NPA terrorists who keep on sowing violence like burning, kidnapping, harassments, extortion activities, and other hostilities in the region,” he added.

The areas of operation are far from the lumad communities so they do not need to flee from their homes and leave their livelihood, Chief Supt. Romana said.

“As the military and police have strengthened counter-insurgency operations, the NPA terrorists exploited the IPs to evacuate and call on the community and other organizations to ask the government to withdraw the operations,” he added.

The latest all-out army offensive is aimed at pursuing rebels responsible for the landmine blast in Barangay San Isidro, Lianga that killed two lumad and a soldier on Nov. 6, 2017, PRO 13 regional spokesperson Chief Inspector Renel E. Serrano said.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/12/14/ips-being-used-by-reds-to-stop-military-offensives/