The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) belied reports by the Philippine Army (PA) of an encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Real, Quezon last December 2, revealing the incident really was a “misencounter” between government troops.
The CPP said the ongoing “intense” focused military operation by the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the PA (IBPA) in northern Quezon Province resulted in their soldiers fighting each other Monday of last week.
“The NPA in its report confirmed it had no unit in the area at the time of the alleged incident,” the CPP said on its website.
The said PA unit announced on its Facebook page last December 2 it figured in a firefight against the NPA in Sitio Gitna, Barangay Llavac in the said municipality.
“This incident is part of the ongoing operation of the Philippine Army to maintain peace and security in the region,” the 202nd IBPA claimed.
“Stay tuned to further details regarding this news,” it added.
The brigade issued no updates.
The CPP however said the PA’s claim of an encounter with the NPA was the result of its “utter embarrassment.”
“Already demoralized and fatigued from relentless sweeps in the forests and mountains, the 202nd (IBPA) soldiers even ended up engaging their own fellow soldiers,” the CPP’s newsletter Ang Bayan reported.
Ang Bayan added that the ongoing military operations are causing terror and anxiety among civilian residents.
“Cases of human rights violations such as illegal searches, harassment, threats, red-tagging, and others have been documented during this time,” it added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
