Military vows to thwart rebel attacks on NPA’s 50th anniversary

March 10, 2019 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY — The military in the North vowed to exert its best efforts to thwart rebel attacks timed for the New Peoples Army’s (NPA) 50th founding anniversary on March 29.

Philippine Army Brigadier General Lenard Agustin, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, said soldiers “will intensify its security in preparations” for the anniversary of the NPA, believed to be launching attacks against government forces and installations to magnify its propaganda versus the government.

Vowing to keep the people under the 7ID’s area of responsibility (AOR) safe, Agustin affirmed that soldiers from the 7th ID “will foil any attempt of the NPA to cause disturbance and violence.”

The NPA was founded by several student activists including Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison on March 29, 1969 in Pangasinan, and went on to spread in various provinces in Northern Luzon and across the country.

Agustin said, “from then on, until now, they have tried all forms of propaganda and educational activities to convince the people to wage war against the government.”

The military believes rebels “launch successive attacks against the government troops and its military operations” on occasions such as the CPP and NPA anniversaries.

Agustin claimed that ‘the number of NPAs has significantly dwindled as evidenced by the series of mass surrenders of former NPAs in most of the provinces in Central and Northern Luzon.’

Communist guerillas “have been successful in terrorizing the people and being a hindrance to local communities and national development,” Agustin said.

The military did not give exact figures or estimates on how many NPA rebels are still operating in the various provinces of Northern and Central Luzon.

Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN