THE remaining communist insurgents are well aware of their weakening offensive capabilities, as well as their capacity to influence communities, a ranking National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) official said on Thursday.
"We have to understand that the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front) has recognized na (that their capabilities are already) dwindling, in terms of manpower, influenced barangays, and number of firearms," NTF-Elcac Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a media briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The decrease in the communist insurgents’ capabilities has been attributed to the government's focused military and civic operations, which include livelihood and integration assistance for those interested in surrendering.
"It has been consistently dwindling ever since. And the latest report was that they only have 800 NPAs, a little over 800 all over the country, down to (their peak of) about 25,000 in the late 80s," Torres said.
Proof of these dwindling capabilities, he said, was the CPP's "3rd Rectification Movement" on Dec. 26, 2023. "Meaning, it's an acknowledgement that they need to rectify, politically, militarily, and all the other mechanisms (of their movement)."
He noted that at its peak, the communist rebels had influenced more than 9,500 barangay (villages), or about 20 percent of the country’s barangay.
"And it was painstakingly cleared by our security forces, foremost, with the support of local chief executives and other agencies," he said.
Torres said the government has come up with an integrated territorial defense system and a barangay intelligence net.
"So, when these two things are functioning in a barangay to ward off any threat group, hindi lamang insurgents, pati na rin mga addict, mga kriminal, naii-relay kaagad sa security sector kaya mabilis ang interaction, mabilis ang action (not only insurgents, but also addicts, criminals, the presence of these groups can be relayed immediately to the security sector, so that interactions are faster). So multiply that 9,000 times. So that is our way in preserving and sustaining our peace gains," Torres said.
Efforts are also being made to enable local government officials to deliver basic services to their barangay.
At the same briefing, the Negros Island Region PNP’s Regional Forensic Unit chief Col. Reynaldo Calaoa said 11 out of the 19 NPA rebels killed in the April 19 clash in Toboso, Negros Occidental, tested positive for gunpowder residue.
"Out of the 19 bodies, 11 of them were found out to be positive for gunpowder nitrates," Calaoa said.
This indicates that the 11 indeed fired their weapons at troops of the Philippine Army's 19th Infantry Battalion, he said.
