Army clashes with 30 NPA guerillas

From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Mar 9, 2019): Army clashes with 30 NPA guerillas

NO ONE among the government soldiers under the 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) were wounded when they clashed with around 30 communist guerillas under the New People’s Army (NPA) in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon on Friday, March 8.

The military said they “likely” wounded some communist guerillas based on stains and trails of blood seen along the encounter site and the withdrawal route of the enemy.
The rebels were believed to be members of Platoon 1, SDG Dario, Sub Regional Committee 2, Northern-Central Mindanao Command.

The firefight lasted for about 30 minutes, and the Army confiscated 200 pieces 7.62mm ammunition for AK47, medical paraphernalia, two backpacks, two handheld radio, 1.5 meters detonating cord, and other subversive documents.

Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Illana said there will be no let-up in their focused military operations as they are hunting down all NPA units operating in their area of responsibility.

Illana said the group his men encountered was the same unit who gunned down Police Officer 3 Jerry Tropel of the Malaybalay of Malaybalay City Philippine National Police last February 27.

“To all those who still remain with the NPA terrorist group, it is not too late to follow the path of your comrades who laid down their arms,” Illana said.

“The government has prepared the necessary assistance for all of you should you decide to go back to the folds of the law including livelihood and cash aid, employment, and housing benefits,” he added.

Meanwhile, NPA's political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) continue to call on the public to continue the people's fight against a tyrannical regime.

In a statement during the International Women's day, NDFP's southern Mindanao women's organization - the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (Free Movement of New Women - Makibaka) - continue the fierce tradition of strong women resisting and fighting along the line and program of the national democratic revolution against the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system.

Its spokesperson, known only as Ka Teresa, said in a statement by criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte.

“At the helm of this regime is Rodrigo Duterte, who is misogyny personified. He is a chauvinist who claims to cherish the memory of his late activist mother but reduces our worth to our sexual organs and orders his rabid dogs in the Armed Forces of the Philippines to mutilate women who dare defy his tyranny and dictatorship,” the statement said.

“He (Duterte) is a barefaced liar who has long taken credit for the hard work of activist women in Davao City in realizing pro-women programs and legislations in order to deodorize the stench of his deeply-entrenched sexism,” the statement added.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1796067