Information Bureau, Communist Party of the Philippines
Press Release April 20, 2016
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today congratulated the New People’s Army (NPA) for successfully seizing a score of high-powered firearms in a raid last Saturday and ambush last Sunday. At least five operating troops of the national police were also taken in custody as prisoners.
At least 19 high-powered rifles were seized by the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command 1 in an ambush last Saturday against a detachment of the 72nd Infantry Battalion in Paquibato District in Davao City. The Red fighters seized nine M14 rifles, nine M1 Garand rifles and an M16 rifle, thousands of bullets, grenades and others.
The following day, April 17, NPA Red fighters ambushed troops of the 87th Infantry Battalion as they were travelling along the New San Agustin highway in Sition Guirang, Barangay Rawis, Basey town in Samar. Red fighters came in close to take away an M-16 assault rifle and K3 submachinegun.
“The Party and all revolutionary forces congratulate and praise the back-to-back
Davao City raid and Basey town ambush for successfully disabling the enemy forces and seizing their weapons,” said the CPP.
“The back-to-back NPA raid and ambush are in response to the standing order of the CPP Central Committee to carry out more and more tactical offensives in order to seize the enemy’s weapons,” said the CPP.
“In both tactical offensives, the NPA exhibited skill and courage in both medium-distance and close-quarter battle as Red fighters overpowered the enemy forces with tactically superior firepower and made close contact in order to take away the enemy’s firearms and other military materiél,” said the CPP.
The CPP expects the NPA “to carry out more and more tactical offensives nationwide that will equal or surpass the back-to-back April 16-17 offensives in Davao City and Basey town. By replicating these tactical offensives, the operating troops of the AFP will become virtual supply officers delivering the US-supplied arms to the NPA and the people’s militias.”
The US has been supplying the AFP with M4 rifles, K3 submachineguns and other assault weapons.
“There is an increasingly urgent need to seize more and more weapons from the enemy as the pace of NPA recruitment continues to rise amid the aggravating crisis and worsening poverty and exploitation of the toiling masses,” said the CPP. “The NPA and the people’s militias must launch more and more tactical offensives and carry out a disarming movement to take away the enemy’s weapons.â€
“The back-to-back April 16 and 17 offensives also underscore the utter failure of the Aquino regime and AFP in its Oplan Bayanihan war of suppression against the people,” said the CPP.
Following the Davao raid last April 16, five operatives of the Philippine National Police carrying out pursuit operations in Paquibato district were taken in by the NPA as prisoners. This brings to at least 12 the number of police and military operatives captured and currently imprisoned by the NPA over the past several weeks.
