By Sarwell Meniano/ Philippine News Agency
The communist terrorist group New People’s Army (NPA) is preparing to regain control of their former strongholds in Leyte Island in case the next administration will abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) next year, a military official said on Tuesday.
Capt. Kaharudin Cadil, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, said the NPA has been revisiting formerly rebel-infested communities to organize their mass-based supporters in Leyte and Southern Leyte provinces.
“This is part of their strategy for them to easily infiltrate remote communities if the national government will not sustain the whole-of-nation approach to end the insurgency of NTF-ELCAC,” Cadil said in a phone interview.
Proof that the NPA had been building their mass-based support but was halted with the surrender of 107 supporters of the communist terrorist group in the remote Somoje village in San Juan, Southern Leyte on November 10.
“The people were organized to support their activities and their houses will serve as safe haven when rebels evade and hide from the operating government forces. As mass supporters, most of the residents in the village served as contacts and couriers where they provided and facilitated the procurement and delivery of supplies, food, and medicines. They also act as the eyes and ears of the NPA by monitoring the presence of government forces in the area and identifying possible targets for recruitment,” Cadil said.
Somoje village is considered a geographically isolated and disadvantaged area and formerly was part of the NPA’s guerrilla base between 1980s until early 1990s.
The mass surrender was made possible through a collaboration between the municipal task force ELCAC of San Juan town, the Philippine Army’s 14th Infantry Battalion, and a group of former rebels.
On November 29, at least 59 NPA couriers, contacts, and supporters in Itahos village, Bontoc, Southern Leyte will formally surrender to local authorities and will take their oath of allegiance to the Philippine government, Cadil said.
The military learned about the NPA’s strategy as disclosed by alias Nap, the NPA courier who voluntarily surrendered to authorities in Bontoc town on November 5 after four years of joining the communist terrorist group.
The Philippine Army believes that the intensified campaign about the benefits for surrenderers has encouraged the NPA member to reach out to authorities as part of the NTF-ELCAC activities.
The formation of task force ELCAC in the national and local levels operationalizes Executive Order No. 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 4, 2018.
The directive also institutionalized a “whole-of-nation approach” in attaining an inclusive and sustainable peace.
The task force also deployed retooled community support program teams to identify issues and concerns in remote communities threatened by the communist terrorist group and these were addressed by national government agencies and the local government.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA) -rir
