The anti-insurgency campaign of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Visayas region is now gearing up a notch as state troops are relentlessly going after the remaining members of the New People's Army in the region.

AFP's Visayas Command chief, Lt. Gen. Robert Dauz stressed that government forces will continue to hunt down "those who sow terror to the peace-loving people in the region. It's time for you to lay down your arms, abandon your armed struggle and return to the folds of the law."

Dauz's statement comes after the recent encounter between the government forces and the NPA troops in Barangay Cagugubngan, Catubig town, Northern Samar where a communist member was killed during the gunfight.

The VisCom reported a significant decline in NPA operations in the region following a series of military initiatives to neutralize communist rebel groups.