NPA plan old; not cause for alarm

CEBU, Philippines - The declaration of the New People’s Army (NPA) to “retake” Cebu is proof that the province is indeed insurgency-free, said Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

“The fact that they want to retake Cebu means insurgency free gyud diay ta, unsaon nila’g retake og dili ta insurgency free,” Garcia told reporters. She said there is nothing new about the NPA’s plan and the same is not a cause for alarm.

In fact, this plan of the NPA was reportedly relayed to her by 78th Infantry Batallion commanding officer Lt. Col. Nolasco Mempin long before. The mayors in the province are also reportedly aware of the plan and told her there is no reason to be alarmed.

“This should not be cause for alarm. This should be cause for an even greater focus and effort into delivering better services to our people,” Garcia said.

Still, she said it is important to continue being vigilant in the implementation of programs.

“We continue also to be as vigilant even as we also continue to implement programs and projects that practically have made their so called kawsa irrelevant,” she said.

She said poverty is everywhere and it is a problem that cannot be solved overnight.

“We are trying to address it the best way we can in a more constructive manner,” she said. Garcia reiterated her call for an all-out war against NPA rebels without a single drop of blood. She said the province will continue with its comprehensive program for rebels who wish to return to the folds of the law.

“It’s a simple choice, life that you will live where your children’s future will be secure or a life on the run in the mountains not knowing where you would sleep next or where your next meal would come from,” Garcia said.

The plot of the NPA to “retake” Cebu and Bohol is said to be a five-year plan, which started in 2010, Mempin said. One of the targets of the plan is reportedly to counter the peace and security efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The information is reportedly based on the intelligence reports of the AFP.

Mempin said the rebels reportedly want to regain control of towns they previously controlled, including Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, and Toledo City.

“Ang San Remigio nasali lang due to reports na may mga estudyante na ni-recruit ng isang organization,” he said.

They are reportedly monitoring high school students in the northern town of San Remigio who have reportedly been recruited by the militant League of Filipino Students (LFS).

“The plan to recover Cebu could be in terms of logistics then to sympathizers and to make them armed,” he said.   LFS, however, denied the information and labeled the same as malicious. LFS said the information is a rehash of an “old and tired story” that legitimate activist groups are no different from armed communist rebels.

“The military has a long and bloody history and reputation of abducting, harassing, torturing, and killing innocent activists and civilians on the excuse that they are rebels. If anything happens to our members, then we have no else to blame but the AFP,” said LFS-Visayas Liaison Officer JC Alejandro.

Alejandro said the lack of distinction between armed rebels like the NPA and legitimate progressive groups like the LFS only shows that the “Oplan Bayanihan” plan of President Benigno Aquino III is no different from the counter-insurgency campaigns of the previous administrations.

The LFS helped in the restoration of student councils and student papers during martial law and in the removal of the US military bases. It continues to fight for genuine national democracy up to the present.

In a separate interview, Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, spokesperson of the AFP- Central Command, said they will be closely monitoring students and ordinary laborers who are vulnerable to possible recruitment.

The AFP will be monitoring suspicious groups in towns where land disputes and government disputes are prominent.  (FREEMAN)