The Philippine Army in Negros Oriental said yesterday that relentless, large-scale anti-insurgency operations have foiled the communist New People’s Army’s (NPA) attempt to recoup its mass bases in the province, following clashes over the weekend.
Brigadier General Jason Jumawan, commander of the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, disclosed during a press conference that before the encounters between government troops and “NPA remnants” on Sunday, February 15, a small group of armed men was already spotted in the hinterland villages.
“This was the same group that the Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion (11IB) troops engaged with in skirmishes during the weekend in Sitio Canggabi, Barangay Sto. Niño in Tanjay City,” Jumawan said.
A series of four encounters starting around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday led to one soldier killed and another wounded during sporadic firefights.
Lt. Colonel Sol Zaulda, commanding officer of 11IB, identified the deceased as Corporal Renold S. Gardose, 29 years old, of Barangay Artuz, Tapaz, Capiz, and squad leader of Alpha Company, and the wounded as PFC Janes Tyrone Lozano, 28 years old, of Riverside, Bohol.
Jumawan said clearing operations uncovered a makeshift shelter for rebels, recovering items like two hand grenades, firearm magazines, subversive documents, and personal belongings.
According to him, residents reported earlier this month that armed individuals were conducting house-to-house visits in their communities and asking them to converge at night.
The Army commander said this indicates that the NPA is recruiting a mass base of supporters to regain its strongholds.
Jumawan stated that after the dismantling of the South East Front in south Negros Oriental, the NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyon – Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor now only has four remnants.
The other members of the armed group are believed to be members of the dismantled South Western Front operating in central Negros.
Jumawan said they will not allow the dismantled guerrilla fronts in Negros to recoup as the brigade has launched tactical offensives to run after the insurgents who scampered immediately in different directions following Sunday’s clashes.
He reiterated a previous commitment that the Philippine Army will not depart from Negros Oriental despite only a handful of remnants left in the dismantled guerrilla fronts.
“As instructed by Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, we will be holding both the ISO [internal security operations] and the territorial defense operations,” Jumawan stressed. (PNA)