The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) expressed confidence Wednesday, April 6, that communist insurgency will be greatly weakened, if not totally eradicated, before President Duterte‘s last day in office in June as more rebels continue to surrender to the military.
Data provided by the AFP public affairs office showed that a total of 266 communist rebels yielded to government forces from January to March 2022 – or an average of 89 insurgents per month.
Most of those who surrendered came from various New People’s Army (NPA) units in Eastern Mindanao with 114.
Meanwhile, there were 58 fighters who surrendered in Western Mindanao; 37 in Southern Luzon; 36 in Visayas; 20 in Northern Luzon; and one from Palawan.
“The AFP attributes the significant gains against the CNTs to the increasing support of communities and local government units through the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC),” said Gen. Andres Centino, AFP Chief of Staff.
"As the nation's primary protector against terrorists and other state adversaries, the AFP's security operations, programs, and activities are rooted in our collective desire for peace and security. Through working and cooperating with organizations and stakeholders, I know that we can get closer to achieving these mutual aspirations for our people," he added.
The surrender of the communist rebels led to the dismantling of some of the most ferocious NPA units in the country.
Among those who yielded to the military recently is Maximo Catarata, the alleged former secretary of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 3 (GF3) in Davao del Norte.
His surrender last March 31 led to the dismantling of the entire GF3, according to Col. Jorry Baclor, chief of the AFP public information office.
However, not all communist rebels are as lucky as Catarata.
The AFP said that 37 communist fighters died in various military operations within the first three months of 2022.
There were also 29 NPA members who were arrested or captured in operations.
One of the alleged top-ranking communist rebels who got killed by the military was Menardo Villanueva.
Villanueva, the alleged leader of the NPA, head of the National Operations Command (NPA-NOC), and a long-time secretary of the National Democratic Front’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC), died in an alleged firefight with elements of the 1001st Infantry Brigade in Brgy. Libodon, Mabini, Davao de Oro last Jan. 12.
Aside from this, state security forces also reduced the firepower of the communist groups with the seizure and surrender of 492 assorted firearms and 148 anti-personnel mines.
The military also discovered and destroyed 66 communist encampments, most of which are located in Eastern Mindanao and Visayas.
Centino urged the entire troops to intensify their operations to completely eradicate the threat of communist insurgency before Duterte steps down from the presidency.