Eight government soldiers were killed in two separate encounters in Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon in October, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) announced.
Before Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Romeo Brawner’s latest claim last November 8 that only about 1,111 New People’s Army (NPA) remain active, two skirmishes in Mindanao resulted in heavy government casualties, CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.
Five 26th Infantry Battalion troopers were killed in an encounter with the NPA in Sitio Kimam, Barangay Binicalan, San Luis, Agusan del Sur last October 22, he announced.
Three government soldiers were also killed in Purok 7, Sitio Mahayag, Barangay Saint Peter, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon in a NPA ambush last October 24, Valbuena, quoting a belated NPA report, added.
The NPA seized an R4 high-powered rifle, a vest and magazines, a glock pistol, 10 military packs, scores of ammunition and other supplies in the ambush, Valbuena said.
Valbuena emphasized that the NPA operation “is a strong response to the people’s demand for justice and an end to the AFP’s reign of unmitigated terrorism in Bukidnon and other parts of the country.”
He said that the action is a clear demonstration of the NPA’s determination to wage armed resistance against a much larger enemy force.
“The NPA is ever committed to fight with the people to defend the economic, political and cultural rights of the peasant and minority masses, especially against the all-out aggression by multinational corporations that are grabbing farmlands and ancestral lands, accompanied by the fascist militarization of local communities,” Valbuena said.
The AFP is silent on the two reported encounters.
At a press briefing following the 6th National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Executive Committee Meeting in Malacañang last Nov. 8, AFP chief of staff Romeo Brawner claimed government anti-insurgency operations have cut NPA guerilla fronts from seven to four.
Remaining NPA fighters lack both the training and resources to stage a major offensive, he added.
Valbuena however said it is the AFP troops that lack courage in battle, as shown in both Bukidnon and Agusan del Sur encounters.
Valbuena said government soldiers who survived the first volley of fire in the Bukidnon ambush “scampered away,” while their comrades in Agusan del Sur abandoned their attempted raid last October 14 when NPA fighters succeeded in setting up ambush positions.
Valbuena however said a NPA guerilla was killed in the October 22 AFP attack.
“The Party (CPP) and NPA mourn the loss of Red fighter Ike Dahonay (Ka Tres), who made the ultimate sacrifice for the people’s struggle for national democracy,” he said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
