AFP: Reds’ strength dwindling

The strength of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) has dwindled in the past two years, resulting in the surrender of 6,659 members of the radical movement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported yesterday.

The gains against the insurgents were the result of the military’s focused operations against NPA rebels and the Duterte administration’s integration program, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

Arevalo, citing latest AFP data, said from Jan. 1, 2017 to yesterday, the AFP has recorded a total of 681 encounters with the NPAs in various parts of the country that were all initiated by the military.

Law enforcement operations resulted in the arrest of 59 guerillas, while 68 were killed. A total of 736 firearms were seized during these skirmishes.

The 6,659 NPA regulars who surrendered were made up of guerillas, cadres and supporters.

“The continuous surrender of NPA members is indicative of the organization’s dwindling strength,” said Arevalo.

Arevalo said more NPAs are also willing to surrender due to the Duterte administration’s integration program which includes livelihood assistance.

The President had dined with former NPA rebels in Malacanang at least twice. He also sent some amazons to Hong Kong.

The AFP also noted a dramatic downtrend in NPA-initiated atrocities since 2017.

Arevalo said last year, the AFP recorded a total of 455 incidents perpetrated by the communist rebels.

In the first half of this year, the military has listed only 112 incidents.

From 77 arson incidents in 2017, the military said only 18 happened this year while abduction perpetrated by NPAs also went down from 25 in 2017 to only one.

The report cited no intimidation incidents this year from two last years in the first half of 2018. Cases of ransacking fell from six to three, while no instances of roadblocks were reported during the period from two.

These are clear indications that we are winning in our focused tactical intelligence and civil military operations particularly in north eastern Mindanao where there is the bulk of NPA,” said the AFP spokesman.