Army, PNP wary of NPA’s probable anniversary attacks in Quezon amid truce

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Dec 26): Army, PNP wary of NPA’s probable anniversary attacks in Quezon amid truce

Even with the prevailing self-imposed ceasefire by the New People’s Army (NPA), the military and police in Quezon province remained on full alert against possible attacks by the rebels as they celebrated the 47th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on Saturday.

“The NPA are noted for not following their own declared Somo (suspension of military offensive) that’s why we are on active defense mode,” Brig. Gen. Erick Parayno, commander of the Army’s 201st Infantry Brigade, said by phone on Saturday.

READ: NPA declares 12-day Yuletide ceasefire

Parayno said all Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) units in the province would remain on active defense mode. “While we are not on offensive, we have to maintain defensive posture,” he said.

Municipal police stations, particularly those in remote areas, were also placed on full alert against any attack by communist rebels, said Senior Supt. Ronaldo Ylagan, chief of the Philippine National Police in Quezon.

READ: PNP declares ceasefire on NPA until Jan. 1 but will defend vital installations

“We’re always on alert status during the CPP anniversary. The NPA always stage tactical offensives before and after their anniversary,” Ylagan said.

According to Parayno, there were only about 27 armed communist rebels operating in central Quezon, Lamon Bay and Bondoc Peninsula area, most of whom are in the outskirts of Gumaca, Lopez, Macalelon and Buenavista towns.

He said an estimated 45 rebels from Laguna and Bicol areas would occasionally serve as augmentation force to the Quezon-based guerrillas.

But the AFP Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) saw no reason to raise its alert status as the CPP observed its 47th anniversary on Saturday, Dec. 26.

“We will remain in white alert status,” Maj. Angelo Guzman, Solcom spokesman, said in a text message on Saturday.

Guzman last week said the CPP-NPA had no “victorious reason” to celebrate their founding anniversary as “many of them have perished during encounters (while) their leaders were arrested and captured.”

Guzman also claimed the NPA has lost its mass base in Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions due to the intensified anti-insurgency and civil military operations of the AFP.

He added that the NPA also lost opportunities to conduct large scale attacks against government forces and installations due to the vigilance of the AFP and the PNP in Southern Luzon/

On Dec. 14, the CPP announced a 12-day ceasefire and directed the NPA to cease from carrying out offensive operations against any members of the government from Dec. 23 toJan. 3, 2016.

Five days after, the government reciprocated the peace gesture by declaring its own 12-day unilateral ceasefire, also from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3, 2016, in the observance of the Yuletide season.

The AFP, however, alleged that NPA rebels attacked Army soldiers in Mindanao on the first day of the ceasefire. No soldier was hurt in the attack.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/750322/army-pnp-wary-of-npas-probable-anniversary-attacks-in-quezon-amid-truce