From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 24, 2020): Army tags Leyte farmer’s group as source of NPA recruits (By Sarwell Meniano)
LINKED TO NPA. The documents recovered by the Philippine Army from the house of a suspected member of the New People's Army (NPA) on Nov. 13. Some of these documents identified a farmer's group as a source of NPA recruits in Carigara, Leyte. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army)
The Philippine Army confirmed that a farmer’s group in Carigara, Leyte has been the source of new recruits of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the province.
In a report released on Tuesday, the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade said members of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magsasaka (PKM) Balangay in Carigara has been recruited as cannon fodders, treated by armed rebels as expendable in the face of enemy fire.
“It was the prospect of financial assistance that enticed many local farmers including some barangay (village) officials to join Municipal Upland Farmers Association of Carigara (MUFAC), which now appeared as front for the underground PKM,” the army said in a statement.
MUFAC was renamed to appease a German church-based humanitarian agency, which have been providing funds in Leyte communities after super typhoon Yolanda’s devastations, according to the military.
“Indeed, the underground PKM Balangay including the basic organization of the party that spearheads it is the real organ of political power in every NPA-influenced village in Carigara and elsewhere,” the military reported.
Troops of the Army’s 93rd Infantry Battalion found more evidence linking the farmer’s group to NPA when they discovered documents at the house of a suspected NPA member on Nov. 13 in upland Canlampay village in Carigara.
“It’s welcome to us if non-government organizations will train villagers on farming, but they should not incorporate the ideologies of communist insurgency in their gatherings,” Capt. Karahudin Adil, spokesperson of the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, said in an interview.
The Philippine Army is deploying more soldiers in remote communities of Carigara to block the campaign of the NPA to recover former strongholds.
To achieve their goal, the military asked village officials to make their local task forces on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) functional and provide information on the whereabouts of rebels.
Recently, suspected NPA members have been sighted in the villages of Canlampay, Hiluctogan, Libo, Upper Hiraan, and Caghalo.
These villages are among the 16 communities in Carigara covered by the Army’s retooled community support program (RCSP) last year.
The CSP deployments aim to facilitate the government’s development programs by hearing the issues and concerns of vulnerable villagers and bring them to the attention of concerned government offices.
The military has reiterated their drive to increase their presence in Carigara after a clash on Sept. 30 in Caghalo village that led to the recovery of several firearms. The incident was the first encounter with the terrorist group this year.
In Canlampay village, soldiers recovered the documents on Nov. 13 from the house of suspected NPA members Edencio and wife, Nora Dionaldo.
Government troops also rescued the couple’s seven children, including five minors, and recovered war materiel from the house.
The pursuit against suspected NPA fighters who recently abandoned a nearby lair led government troops to the house of the Dionaldo couple. Edencio remains at-large while Nora and the couple’s eldest son, Ernie, were detained at the town’s police station.
On Tuesday, government troops had a brief gun battle with eight rebels in Hiluctogan village. No one was hurt from the military while bloodstains indicate casualties among the rebels.
Carigara is about 48 kilometers northwest of Tacloban, the regional capital. It is a 2nd class town with a population of over 51,000.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122745
In a report released on Tuesday, the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade said members of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magsasaka (PKM) Balangay in Carigara has been recruited as cannon fodders, treated by armed rebels as expendable in the face of enemy fire.
“It was the prospect of financial assistance that enticed many local farmers including some barangay (village) officials to join Municipal Upland Farmers Association of Carigara (MUFAC), which now appeared as front for the underground PKM,” the army said in a statement.
MUFAC was renamed to appease a German church-based humanitarian agency, which have been providing funds in Leyte communities after super typhoon Yolanda’s devastations, according to the military.
“Indeed, the underground PKM Balangay including the basic organization of the party that spearheads it is the real organ of political power in every NPA-influenced village in Carigara and elsewhere,” the military reported.
Troops of the Army’s 93rd Infantry Battalion found more evidence linking the farmer’s group to NPA when they discovered documents at the house of a suspected NPA member on Nov. 13 in upland Canlampay village in Carigara.
“It’s welcome to us if non-government organizations will train villagers on farming, but they should not incorporate the ideologies of communist insurgency in their gatherings,” Capt. Karahudin Adil, spokesperson of the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, said in an interview.
The Philippine Army is deploying more soldiers in remote communities of Carigara to block the campaign of the NPA to recover former strongholds.
To achieve their goal, the military asked village officials to make their local task forces on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) functional and provide information on the whereabouts of rebels.
Recently, suspected NPA members have been sighted in the villages of Canlampay, Hiluctogan, Libo, Upper Hiraan, and Caghalo.
These villages are among the 16 communities in Carigara covered by the Army’s retooled community support program (RCSP) last year.
The CSP deployments aim to facilitate the government’s development programs by hearing the issues and concerns of vulnerable villagers and bring them to the attention of concerned government offices.
The military has reiterated their drive to increase their presence in Carigara after a clash on Sept. 30 in Caghalo village that led to the recovery of several firearms. The incident was the first encounter with the terrorist group this year.
In Canlampay village, soldiers recovered the documents on Nov. 13 from the house of suspected NPA members Edencio and wife, Nora Dionaldo.
Government troops also rescued the couple’s seven children, including five minors, and recovered war materiel from the house.
The pursuit against suspected NPA fighters who recently abandoned a nearby lair led government troops to the house of the Dionaldo couple. Edencio remains at-large while Nora and the couple’s eldest son, Ernie, were detained at the town’s police station.
On Tuesday, government troops had a brief gun battle with eight rebels in Hiluctogan village. No one was hurt from the military while bloodstains indicate casualties among the rebels.
Carigara is about 48 kilometers northwest of Tacloban, the regional capital. It is a 2nd class town with a population of over 51,000.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122745
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