AFP shifts focus from Sayyaf to NPA

Now, for the next target...

President Arroyo ordered yesterday the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to begin "redeploying" military personnel and resources to areas of the country "threatened" by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President issued the directives to Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes amid military intelligence reports that the NPA has expanded its influence from 1,969 barangays in 2001 to 2,262 this year.

According to the military report, 1,806 barangays nationwide were classified as "infiltrated" by the NPA while 456 were classified as "NPA-influenced" areas. The report did not define the terms "infiltrated" and "influenced" as used in the document.

Bunye was cryptic in his announcement of the Pre-sident’s orders to Reyes: "I talked with Secretary Reyes this morning and he said he has already received orders from the President (for) the DND and the AFP to start redeploying their forces in the NPA-threatened areas after the AFP has effectively addressed the Abu Sayyaf crisis."

Bunye refused to elaborate when pressed for details by reporters. He also refused to comment on how many troops would be re-deployed and when the re-deployment would happen.

"(Those are) operational details that may not be divulged at this time without compromising operations," he said.

However, in her extemporaneous remarks at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo said her administration would not let its guard down against remnants of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap for ransom group in Basilan and Sulu despite the success of military pursuit and neutralization operations against the bandits.

The President also said the government’s campaign against the Abu Sayyaf is part of the "total war" she declared against criminal syndicates.

It was this war on crime that was the focal point of the President’s closed-door meeting with Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and PNP National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Reynaldo Velasco.

The President mentioned the Abu Sayyaf when she ordered Velasco to continue his coordination with PNP’s Region 10 and Caraga offices regarding the manhunt for the remaining members of the Resto robbery gang composed mostly of fugitive inmates who broke out of jails in the two southern regions.

She likened the Resto robbery gang to the Abu Sayyaf: "Parang yung Abu Sayyaf. Pag pinabayaan mo nang kaunti, nagre-recruit na naman (They’re like the Abu Sayyaf. Leave them alone for a while and they begin recruiting members anew)."

Carrot before stick

Despite her determination to end the NPA threat, however, the President has made it clear that she is willing to welcome rebels who want to return to the mainstream of society.

From the DOJ, Mrs. Arroyo proceeded to the town of Sta. Cruz in Laguna province to welcome back to the fold 27 former NPA rebels, whom she invited to start a new life under the "strong Republic" she is working to build.

Speaking in Filipino before the former rebels and Sta. Cruz officials at the San Luis gymnasium, the President reiterated her vow to eliminate poverty within the decade.

Improvement in the people’s quality of life and standard of living is the best way of helping people "misled by outmoded philosophies and driven to the hills and mountains," she said.

And so comes the President’s stick: "Basta terorista, ginigiyera natin yun (If they are terrorists, we are at war with them)." This statement is an apparent dig at the NPA, who are tagged by the United States government as among the international terrorist groups on US watchlist.

The President also made good her welcome of the returning former NPAs by handing out checks of seed money that the former rebels can use as investments in livelihood projects.

These funds were given by the President so that the rebel returnees can begin a new life in the mainstream of society under the government’s peace initiatives with all rebel groups. With her was former Laguna governor and now Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr.

The President also personally administered the oath of allegiance to the Republic taken by the 27 NPA returnees, after which she swore in en masse the newly elected barangay officials in Laguna.

Laguna is one of the provinces considered to be an NPA bailiwick, along with Quezon, Batangas and the areas around the Sierra Madre mountain range.

Resumption of hostilities

This resumption of full-scale military offensives against the NPA came after government officials noticed a lack of progress in the Arroyo administration’s efforts to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the mother organization of all communist groups in the Philippines, including the NPA.

The government suspended its peace talks with the Netherlands-based NDF leaders headed by Luis Jalandoni and scuttled the negotiations while they were conducting in Oslo, Norway after the NPA assasinated several Philippine political leaders, including Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo and Quezon Rep. Marcial Punzalan in mid-2001.

Several government officials, including legislators, ranking police officials, members of the judiciary and the executive department are also still on the NPA hit list.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces chief Gen. Roy Cimatu said yesterday that the military has effectively degraded the Abu Sayyaf threat in Western Mindanao, Basilan and Zamboanga and that is why troops are being re-deployed to areas threatened by the NPA: "We will shift now our forces because we think we have already successfully degraded the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, so there will be a redeployment to central and northern Mindanao."

He added that the military is now "focusing on the NPA because of their expansion in barangays."

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said the matter is now under discussion at the AFP General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo: "We are ready to implement the re-deployment order of the President. We are now working to process and implement it. We are identifying priority areas and (communist) fronts and units to be re-deployed."

Prior to the RP-US balikatan 02-1 exercises in Zamboanga and Basilan, the Abu Sayyaf was estimated to have about 1,000 members. As of July this year, the Abu Sayyaf strength was pegged by military intelligence at 242 rebels sharing 218 firearms among them.

On the other hand, once NPA-free, the province of Bohol now has 350 NPA members operating in the area and carrying 250 firearms.

Despite these incursions, the military said the NPA troop strength has decreased from 11,930 at the end of last year to 11,094 as of July this year.

Rebel firearms have also decreased from 7,159 last year to 6,912 as of July this year - a reduction of 247 guns.

AFP vice chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling earlier said that during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (SK) last July 15, they monitored some 400 candidates for barangay chairman who were supported by the NPA.

As of July, the number of fatalities in clashes between the NPA and the military was pegged at 263: 98 rebels; 81 soldiers, policemen and militiamen and; 84 civilians who were either killed in the crossfire during skirmishes or executed by the NPA.