Army: Deadline to neutralize NPA by June 30 unrealistic

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines is coming up with a new campaign plan in wiping out the communist insurgents as it is missing its target to render the rebels’ threat to an “inconsequential” level before Pesident Arroyo steps down on June 30, a senior military official admitted Wednesday.

Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu said realistically they will not be able to attain what the AFP leadership planned for 10 years to neutralize the ranks of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the entire country and set deadline until June 30 this year.

However, Mapagu said majority of the areas that were previously influenced by the NPA, the army wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), have been cleared and the security operations have been turned over to police responsibility.

Mapagu said the Military leadership is making adjustments as it is missing its target to continue in addressing the decades-old insurgency problems in the country.

“Realistically, hindi na natin ma-attain ang gusto natin gawin to make it (insurgents campaign) a law enforcement concern to the lowest minimum level ang mga insurgents,” Mapagu said.

There will be a new campaign tack to make the necessary adjustments to address the communist insurgents’ threat in the country.

The Army chief said the new campaign plan will be provided by the AFP General Headquarters for ground operations.

But, it was not immediately clear from Mapagu whether the AFP will set another time frame in its new drive plan to neutralize the NPA threat in the country.

However, the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division claimed yesterday that it can defeat communist rebellion in its area by June 30 even as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Delfin Bangit had admitted the military cannot meet the deadline.

In a statement, 3rd ID Commander Maj. Gen. Vicente Porto said there are areas within their jurisdiction wherein the insurgents have lost their will to pursue their armed struggle.

“In our area, we can meet the target. We may not totally eradicate the rebels but the indications are there. Many insurgents are surrendering while some went on lie low status. Those are indications that we are on the right track,” Porto said in Filipino.

“Being irrelevant does not mean that we would totally wipe out the NPA rebels. As I’ve said, by being irrelevant, they have lost their will to fight,” he said.

Porto said the number of those availing of the government’s Social Integrtaion Program (SIP) is increasing.

The SIP is a project initiated by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process that seeks to provide former rebels resources to enable them to return to mainstream society. Rebel returnees will receive a cash reward for their surrendered firearms and undergo a livelihood skills training seminar. They will also be entitled to livelihood benefits in capital goods worth P50,000 each.

Porto said they expect more provinces within their jurisdiction to be declared insurgency-free after Aklan and Guimaras were labeled as such.

The military declares an area as insurgency-free if the communist movement there is already non-existent or is too insignificant to affect the lives of its residents.

The AFP said the membership in the communist movement has declined to around 4,700 from a peak of 25,200 in 1987. The decline has been attributed to the government’s development programs and the alleged conflict among leaders of the rebellion.