The US-Marcos regime recently incurred heavy losses after a series of tactical offensives launched by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao and in Quezon Province, Southern Tagalog in the last two months. This is despite recent remarks made by the GRP’s National Security Adviser Eduardo Año claiming that the GRP will ‘defeat the NPA’ within Marcos Jr’s term.
In response to the GRP’s remarks, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Interim Chairperson of the Negotiating Panel Julie De Lima said: “the target to defeat the CPP-NPA-NDF within the current administration is just outright ridiculous.”
Between 15-26 June, NPA-Sultan Kudarat launched a series of tactical offensives against combined forces of the 6th Infantry Division (ID), the 37th Infantry Battalion (IB), 57th IB, 7th IB and troops of the Special Forces Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who have been conducting focused military operations in the municipality.
Last 17 June, guerilla forces of NPA-Sultan Kudarat ambushed a unit of the 37th IB in Sitio 30, Barangay Hinalaan. The following day, a similar operation was launched against the 37th IB in the mountainous area of the same locality resulting in dozens of AFP soldiers killed in action and more injured.
Last 9 July, the same NPA unit conducted harassment operations against AFP soldiers encamped in Sitio Sorong, Barangay Hinalaan. In retaliation, GRP troops fired relentlessly for three hours according to reports.
Meanwhile, Red fighters of NPA-Quezon successfully acquired five M16 rifles from AFP troops including bullets and other military equipment in an ambush against the 85th IB and CAFGU forces in Sitio Pag-asa, Barangay Mapuloy, Tagkayawan, Quezon last 1 September.
“The ambush in Quezon is a major slap on the face of the AFP and the National Task Force (NTF)-Elcac. It proves that the peasant masses and people in Quezon, as in the rest of the country, are ever determined to wage armed resistance against the AFP’s campaign of state terrorism under the US-Marcos regime,” said Communist Party of the Philippines Spokesperson Marco Valbuena in a statement.
