NPA rebel killed, two alleged rebel camps discovered in separate government operations in Luzon

By Ronron
September 2, 2007

A suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed while two alleged abandoned camps of the insurgents were discovered by government troops in separate operations over the weekend in Luzon.

1Lt. Dennis Guillermo, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division, said the unidentified slain rebel was among nine suspected guerillas who fought against elements of the 21st Infantry Battalion last Saturday morning in Sto. Niño, Cagayan.

In a statement, Guillermo said the government troops, led by 2Lt. Aries Apduhan, were on combat operations when they encountered the suspected NPA members at around 6:30 am in Barangay Lipatan.

The 10-minute firefight that ensued resulted in the death of the unidentified rebel, and the recovery of two M16 assault rifles with magazines, one rifle grenade, one hand grenade, a 12-guage shotgun, an 81-mm mortar shell and a bag containing subversive document, said Guillermo.

Guillermo said the “successful operations” was a result of 5th ID chief Maj. Gen. Melchor Dilodilo’s order to step up the military’s internal security operations in his area of responsibility following the apprehension in the Netherlands of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison last August 28.

Guillermo said they are not discounting the possibility that the NPA will conduct a series of atrocities and begin to run wild after losing their leader.

Meanwhile, an abandoned NPA camp was discovered by government troops last Friday in Sitio Kulitob, Barangay Balug in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, said Capt. Carlo Ferrer, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division.

Ferrer said elements of the reconnaissance platoon of the Army’s 4th Infantry Battalion, led by a certain Lt. Arreola, discovered the camp that can accommodate more or less 100 persons.

“There are indications that it has recently been abandoned,” Ferrer said.

At around 7:30 am the following day, Ferrer said members of the Army’s Scout Ranger Class 166-07, under a certain Lt. Bermudo, found another abandoned NPA camp in Barangay Umiray, General Nakar in Quezon.

Ferrer said the camp can accommodate about a hundred rebels also, with 10 huts of different sizes, six electric posts, a 25-meter firing range, a basketball court that can be converted into a lecture area, a water supply/source and a strong cellphone signal.

“These developments were assessed to be connected with the arrest of Joma Sison in the Netherlands, wherein demoralization have forced these abandonment of their camps,” he said of the discovery of the two camps.

Aside from the loss of their leader, the communist movement, Ferrer said, is also suffering from the “dwindling support of the people, surrender of many of their comrades, and the relentless pursuit by government forces against them.”

Sison was taken into police custody by Dutch authorities for allegedly inciting the killings of former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004, respectively, in Quezon City./DMS