Bakit hindi namin susuportahan at mamahalin ang mga NPA? Pinoprotektahan at ipinagtatanggol nila kami laban sa mga sakim na panginoong maylupa at mababangis na militar ng gobyerno. Tumutulong pa sila sa aming gawain sa bukid, samantalang ang mga sundalo ng militar ay inaagawan pa kami ng aming kaunting kakainin.

[“Why should we not support and love the NPA (New People’s Army)? They protect and defend us against despotic landlords and the soldiers of the government. The NPA helps us even in our work as farmers, while the members of the reactionary army even take away what little food we have.’]

Dinadala pa nila ang kanilang medik para gamutin kami kung mayroon kaming sakit. Tinuturuan din nila ang mga anak namin at maging kami na magbasa at magsulat. Tinuturaan din nila kami kung paano iharap ang aming mga kahilingan sa mga panginoong maylupa at komersyante. Kaya mahal na mahal namin ang NPA at kaya namin sila tinutulungan.

[“They even bring their medical team to look after our health problems and teach our children how to read and write. They also teach us how to bring our demands before the landowners and traders. That is why we cherish our people’s army and why we help them, too.”]

The Filipino masses in the countryside support and cherish the NPA.

With the support and encouragement of the masses in the countryside, the New People’s Army continues to gain strength and build the genuine people’s democratic government with each military operation launched against the enemy. The NPA has launched key military actions including tactical offensives, harassment operations, ridding of enemy agents/spies in the different regions of the country.

These guerilla operations belie the propaganda of the reactionary members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) that the NPA is a spent force. The enemies of the people forget that the NPA fights for the interest of the people and are supported and loved by the masses.

The following are some of the military operations undertaken by the NPA in different regions of the country from April-June 2023.

NORTHERN LUZON

• A member of the 24th IB was killed by the NPA in Naguillan, Sallapadan, Abra last June 27.“The military action served as a punishment against the mercenary AFP for its continuous combat operations, harassment and threats against civilians accused by the AFP of supporting the NPA,” the NPA-Abra said in a statement.

In another military operation by the NPA, a member of the 102nd IB was wounded. Wounded was Private Zerganie Pagtan. The 102nd IB was formerly deployed in the Cordillera region under the 5th ID where it sowed terror among the people since 2022.

CENTRAL LUZON

• Two soldiers of the 70th IB were killed in an encounter with a unit of the NPA-Bulacan in Barangay San Isidro, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan last April 28.

According to the report of the unit, the NPA encountered the enemy troops of the 70th IB undertaking combat operations in said area. There were no casualties on the side of the people’s guerrillas.

These mercenary troops are the rabid collectors of the Villars, Robles and Aranetas who belong to the top members of the ruling classes of the country. According to the NPA spokesperson of NPA-Bulacan, the Araneta family, for example, has grabbed more than 700 hectares of land by displacing the peasants and their families.

The troops of the 70th IB have been operating for weeks and causing havoc in the area. The mercenary soldiers control the livelihood of the residents and set the amount of food and supplies they could buy and consume.

The 70th IB was also involved in violating human rights in Bulacan and Zambales during the past years such as the strafing of houses of civilians in Barangay San Mateo, Norzagaray; stealing rice, chicken and ducks from the peasants.

• Seven enemy troops from the 91st IB were killed in action during a tactical offensive launched by the NPA-Aurora in Barangay Diteki, San Luis, Aurora last June 9. This operation followed an earlier NPA attack against the same enemy unit last June 3 in Barangay Punglo, Maria Aurora where two soldiers were killed. Among those killed in the firefight was Corporal Noel F. Caya.

The armed operations against enemy troops and their minions are rendering revolutionary justice for the peasant masses in Aurora against the abuses of the soldiers. For the past weeks the peasants and their families in the area have been subjected to different human rights violations. The worst is being prohibited to attend to their fields, sell their crops and firewood for coal and restricting the buying of enough food and other supplies for their daily needs.

Di lang kami pinapatay ng bala. Gusto rin nila kaming patayin sa gutom!” [“They not only kill us with bullets. They also want to kill us with hunger!

[“They not only kill us with bullets. They also want to kill us with hunger!”]

SOUTHERN TAGALOG

• The Red fighters of the NPA-Rizal ambushed troops of the 80th IB in Barangay San Rafael, Rodrigues last March 31. One enemy soldier was killed. Since February this year, the troops have been operating in barangays covered by the Wawa-Violago Dam Project. They have caused harm to communities who are at risk of being displaced because of the said infrastructure project. Said troops have been serving as guards of the Wawa-Violago Dam.
• A member of the 4th IB was killed when the NPA-Mindoro launched an ambush operation on his unit in Barangay Monteclaro, San Jose Occidental Mindoro last April 25. Killed was Pvt. Mayu-ay Onaw. Confiscated from Onaw was a calibre .45 and two magazines.

Pvt. Onaw was active in combat operations and was used to guide and accompany search-and-destroy operations, gather intelligence, forced surrender and torture of his fellow natives. According to the NPA unit, he was also an active tentacle of CAFGU recruitment among the Hanunuo and Buhid indigenous peoples in the towns of Rizal and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

VISAYAS

• Meanwhile, the NPA-Central Negros confiscated two firearms from thugs in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental last March 30. The weapons, confiscated from Eddie Abarques and Lemark Nueva, were being used to harass, threaten, and terrorize the residents whose land they want to grab.
• Revolutionary justice was rendered against Jorge Javier, during a partisan operation by operatives of NPA-Central Negros last April 16 in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental. An asset for espionage for the AFP in Negros, Javier was responsible for giving information which led to cases of arrest, torture, and killings. He informed the military on the whereabouts of then pregnant Cristina Jacolbe, her 16-year-old daughter Everly Kee Jacolbe and farmer Rodan Montero which resulted in their murders by the 62nd IB. Jorge was also involved in the killing of Victor Baldonado in November 2022 and Orlando Fat in January 2023.

Taken from Javier was his Barangay Intelligence Network ID, Colt cal. 45, a caliber .357 mangum, KG-9 submachinegun, two magazines, ammunitions, and other military materials.

• A series of armed actions was launched by units of the Napoleon Tumagtang Command of NPA-Southern Panay in the southern part of the island of Panay from May 2. The harassment operation against the soldiers stationed in the CAA Detachment in Barangay Luyang, Sibalom, Antique last May 2, was the first in the series.
• This was followed by the destruction of construction materials amounting to PhP900,000 owned by Atrila Builders, Inc. which has continuously refused to pay the wages and improve the working condition of its workers. The operation last May 5 in Barangay Cabungaan, Leon, Iloilo was meant to paralyze Atrila Builders as it continues on its anti-workers policies.
• Last May 6, the Red fighters fired upon troops of the Philippine Army responding to the call for support by a company that was to launch operations against the NPA. One of the vans carrying enemy troops and command-detonated explosives was hit. Because of the attack of the Red fighters, the enemy troops retreated and discontinued their operations in the area.
• On May 8, a unit of the NPA launched a harassment attack on a CAA detachment in Barangay Igcococ, Sihalom, Antique.
• Three soldiers of the 62nd IB were killed during a counter-raid operation by NPA-Central Negros last June 13 in Sityo Cupad, Barangay Macagahay, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental. There were no casualties among the Red fighters. The bodies presented by the military were civilians Benjie Ebarle and Roweno Anubong who were killed by the rapid fire of the military.

BICOL

• A series of attacks against enemy troops were also launched by units of the NPA in Bicol. According to the NPA units, these acts of attrition against the AFP were part of rendering justice for the victims of militarism and fascist brutality in the provinces of the Bicol region.
• Red fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA)-Masbate confiscated an armalite rifle from military assets in Sitio Pondol on the border of San Carlos and Matagbac barangays in Milagros on April 14. The assets were used in the aggressive attacks on the citizens of the second district of the province.

Two of the assets were identified as Glenn Masamoc, a CAFGU element, and Ganga Dalanon. They were both responsible for the killing of civilian Rodante Arizala in 2022. The two were also joined by husband and wife, Rina Verdida and Larry Quilantang, who also served as military agents.

According to the report of the Red fighters, while their weapons were being confiscated, Dalanon and Masamoc fought back and even used their fellow civilians as shields. Because of this, the fighters quickly moved to help the civilians, especially a child so that they could go to safety.

During the incident, Dalanon was killed while Quilantang and Masamoc were injured. According to the unit, “a child was saved while a young man was injured after a despicable attempt to harm them by Dalanon and Masamoc.”

• In Camarines Norte, three soldiers were confirmed killed in an attack by the NPA against the 9th IB in Barangay Canapawan, Labo last June 8. The Red fighters fired on the enemy troops as they approached the base of the NPA. The firefight lasted only 15 minutes, but the enemy troops continued firing and detonating explosives for more than two hours. The Red fighters were able to retreat safely.
• On June 10, units of the NPA launched several harassment operations against detachments of the enemy in Barangay Pantao, Libon and Barangay Cuyaoyao, Pio Duran. Operations were also launched against 81st IB detachments in Barangay Inoyunan, Bula, Barangay Cambalidio, Libmanan in Camarines Sur. Sniping operations were also launched by the people’s guerrillas in Barangay Calabnigan against military units undertaking the Retooled Community Service Program.

The masses know that the reactionary army of the regime defends and protects the interest and wealth of the very people that oppress and exploit them. They know that the only army that fights for their welfare and interest is the New People’s Army. And this is reflected on their continuous and unceasing support for the Red fighters and the revolutionary struggle. This is the reason why the NPA continues to gain strength and why no Oplans of any brutal regime will ever succeed.

#DiMatalotalo