Desk-bound soldiers to be fielded vs NPA

Incoming Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon will send military officers and soldiers holding desk jobs to the frontlines to fight the New People’s Army.

"We simply have to reexamine our maneuver forces, the size of our maneuver forces," he told reporters yesterday. "Many are still in their headquarters, we need to put them where they are needed. We have to focus on the frontlines."

Esperon said an Army battalion will be deployed against the NPA in the Visayas "in three months’ time" after the soldiers have undergone retraining.

The NPA have a strong presence in parts of Eastern, Central and Western Visayas, he added.

Esperon, who will serve as Armed Forces chief for 18 months, said the fight against the NPA is his top priority.

"I’m looking at 2010, the (end of) the term of the President wherein we must be able to considerably degrade the capabilities of the New People’s Army and their front organizations," he said.

In late June, 1,500 troops or three battalions from Mindanao were redeployed to three government-identified NPA hotbeds: Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Sorsogon in the Bicol region.

President Arroyo has P1 billion released for security forces to reduce the strength of the 7,400-strong NPA in two years.

Some 3,000 more troops deployed as security details for government officials and VIPs are also set to be sent to various military forward positions.

The NPA has been waging a guerrilla campaign for 37 years.

Peace talks between the government and the rebels have been stalled since August 2004. — Jaime Laude