By CPP Information Bureau
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today lauded the New People's Army in Mindoro for its successful tactical offensive Saturday morning that practically wiped out a platoon of fascist troops in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro. The NPA ambushed a platoon of the 23rd Division Reconnaissance Company (DRC) resulting in the death of 11 soldiers and the wounding of eight troopers.
The number of soldiers wiped out in the Oriental Mindoro ambush was the biggest loss suffered so far by government forces this year. Since the start of this year, at least 40 AFP officers and soldiers have been killed and 43 wounded in action as the NPA stepped up its tactical offensives nationwide.
The CPP has directed the NPA to launch more tactical offensives in an effort to implement its objective of reaching the strategic stalemate stage of its people's war by mid-decade.
"The AFP is bound to suffer bigger losses this year. The Mindoro tactical offensive will be surpassed several times over by more NPA tactical offensives in various provinces. NPA Red fighters are keen on seizing the biggest ever number of weapons from the AFP in the coming months as growing numbers of NPA recruits need to be armed."
"The Filipino people are elated with the NPA's tactical military victory in Mindoro. The tactical offensive is just punishment for the hideous crimes and human rights abuses perpetrated by the fascist troops of the AFP," said the CPP.
The CPP noted that the 23rd DRC belongs to the Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division which was responsible for the illegal arrest, trumped-up charges, torture and other violations of human rights of 43 health workers in Morong, Rizal last February 6. The health workers continue to be detained and suffer various deprivations at the Philippine Army headquarters in Tanay, Rizal.
The CPP said the successful tactical offensive in Oriental Mindoro undeniably shows the continuing vitality of people's war and the strength possessed by the NPA and its valiant Red fighters. "With the deep and broad support of the peasant masses, the iron determination Red fighters to fight, creative application of guerrilla tactics and mastery of the terrain, the people's army continues to be an invincible force, which a rotten mercenary and fascist armed forces, such as the AFP, cannot defeat."
"The fascist enemy forces are bound to commit more and more military fumbles and political foulups in their desperation to suppress the Filipino people's revolutionary resistance and stop the relentless growth of people's war nationwide," said the CPP in reaction to a statement by the AFP's Southern Luzon Command that the commanding officer of the ambushed platoon may only have committed a "tactical blunder."
The AFP has launched several division-size operations in different regions since the start of the year but these have consistently been rebuffed by the deft maneuvers and counter-offensives of the NPA. "The AFP's repeated promise to reduce the armed revolution to insignificance if not decimate it by the end of last year has blown up in its face," added the CPP.
