Military says Reds continue extortion amid peace talks

WHILE the third round of the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) was ongoing in Rome, Italy, the military accused the New People’s Army (NPA) of continuing its extortion activities in the countryside.

The Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division disclosed that recovered war materials from a series of encounters over the weekend in Barangay Biangan, Makilala, North Cotabato between security forces and the “lawless armed group,” belong to the NPA’s Guerrilla Front 51 of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC).