New People’s Army (NPA)-Northern Negros (Roselyn Jean Pelle Command) ambushed a Regional Mobile Force Battalion–Negros Island Region (RMFB-NIR) unit conducting anti-insurgency operations in Sitio Alimpolosan, Barangay Lalong, Calatrava, Negros Occidental on the afternoon of June 14. The ambush was the NPA’s armed action in a series across Negros Island in recent months.
NPA-Northern Negros spokesperson Ka Cecil Estrella reported that the unit stopped firing when Red fighters noticed civilians riding in the police vehicle. He said the Red warriors did not press the assault to ensure the civilians’ safety. The move showed the NPA’s strict compliance with the rules of war and international humanitarian law.
Estrella warned civilians to desist boarding police and military vehicles because this endangers them. He said state forces’ equipment and vehicles are legitimate targets of the Red army’s military actions.
The police meanwhile denied that an ambush occurred and presented the incident as an encounter, in an attempt to cover up its own defeat and deny the guerrilla advantage of the people’s army that carried out the armed action.
The ambushed RMFB unit was in the area to continue the 79th IB’s Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP). Estrella said the RCSP is a hyprocritical program that disguises further intensifying militarization in the countryside.
The RCSP in Northern Negros has historically been marked by the 79th IB’s repeated violations of the rights of farmers and residents. These include cases of forced surrenders, firing of weapons, all-night drinking, gambling, and distribution of pornography.
“The NPA’s launching of a tactical offensive is a just response to the AFP and PNP attacks on the people of the area,” Estrella said. She added that NPA-Northern Negros units will continue their efforts and will not allow the continued ravaging of militarization and the entrenchment of injustice in the area.
NPA–Negros Island (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command) praised the ambush by NPA-Northern Negros. Regional unit spokesperson Ka Maoche Legislador said the Red army’s successive military actions on the island demonstrate its solidarity with the masses of Negros. “The Red army continues its efforts to break the [chains of exploitation] by destroying the mercenary machinery of the greedy landlord class and the comprador bourgeoisie,” he said.
