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By Len Espinosa, Central Luzon Bureau
and Francis Lagniton, Senior Editor
First of three parts
SOMEWHERE IN CENTRAL LUZON—After 36 years of
waging war against the government, the Communist Party of the
Philippines, which is marking its 36th founding anniversary today,
has made great strides in its armed struggle, specifically in this
region, claimed the spokesman of one of the most active rebel units
in the country.
While many former communist rebels dispute the
claims of New People’s Army officialdom, Jose Agtalon, spokesman
for the Josepino Corpuz Command which operates in Central Luzon,
argued that the rebellion continues to grow, both in terms of men
and public support.
“The NPA has augmented its forces in its
guerrilla fronts that are spread over Central Luzon by the
deployment of additional units in the existing mass base in the
area,” Agtalon said.
He said the “successful tactical offensives”
launched against the government and civilian facilities and units in
recent weeks are owing to a “wider and deeper” mass base and the
increased armed capacity of the NPA.
Based on its list, at least 34 firearms were
taken from police and military forces, including three machine guns.
Nineteen of these firearms were taken during an ambush in Bulacan
that killed 10 soldiers who, the military claims, were on a rescue
and relief mission in the typhoon-stricken areas of the province.
However, Agtalon disproved this statement saying
the soldiers, all from the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Army’s
Seventh Division, had been patrolling the area of Pasong Buncal in
San Ildefonso, Bulacan, for two weeks as shown by the daily log of
operations the NPA found in the possession of the Army troopers.
“The soldiers were on a mission to raid an
alleged NPA camp in the encounter site in the guise of a mercy
mission. [The relief operation was] incidental to the rescue and
relief operations that were being conducted by government troops at
that time,” Agtalon said.
He further disclosed that 18 soldiers, and not
10, were killed by the NPA, including 2nd Lt. Ben Puyao. Six
soldiers, he added, were captured by rebel guerrillas but were later
released.
The two-week massive tactical offensives, which
started on November 30 in Bulacan later spread throughout the region
and specific victories, were scored in Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac,
Pampanga and Zambales, Agtalon said.
As a result of the tactical offensives, it was
learned that 52 soldiers and ranking policemen have died in the
hands of the NPA.
Among these government elements are Maj. Ernesto
Parungao, police intelligence chief from Nueva Ecija; Chief Insp.
Tomas de Aemas, police chief of Angat, Bulacan; Chief Insp. Leonardo
Manuel, former police chief of Porac, Pampanga.
In the light of the declared cease-fire by the
CPP-NPA from December 23 to January 2 next year, Agtalon declined to
disclose any increase in or sustained tactical offensives that are
as considerable as those launched by the rebel movement after it
(cease-fire) lapses.
Agtalon only said that guerrilla fronts, which
are as big as an average congressional district, are mostly
concentrated in the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.
He, however, reiterated the NPA’s agreement to
stop tactical offensives for that period will be supported by an
“alert status” that will allow them to retaliate if the military
violates the truce as they have done in the past, Agtalon said.
With the string of offensives, the rebel
movement still expects the Arroyo administration to act on the
dropping of the CPP-NPA from the terrorist list of the United States
and other western nations.
“The delisting is not a favor the CPP-NPA is
asking from Malacañang. The movement is seeking a rectification
of the violation committed by the Arroyo administration of earlier
framework of principles that have been agreed upon,” Agtalon
explained.
To be continued
Part
2 |Part 3|
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