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NPA regaining strength in Abra, AFP says

This news comes from Army officials themselves: Abra province in northern Philippines is fast regaining its image as a major turf of the Marxist-led New People’s Army. Conditions in the province have not changed over the past decades, they said. This, plus poor government visibility and rough mountain roads are luring many ethnic Tingguians back to the rebel army.

BY ARTEMIO A. DUMLAO
Bulatlat.com

LAGANGILANG, Abra -- Decades-old and pre-martial law issues such as lack of livelihood opportunities, bad roads and injustice apparently due to government neglect of remote hinterland areas are luring hinterland folks in this province to embrace the Marxist-led New People’s Army.

Lt. Col. Juanito Dalmas, commander of the Philippine Army’s 17th Infantry Battalion based here bared that NPA guerrillas operating in this province are "exploiting the issues (that have always been the old issues) of poverty and injustice".

Dalmas said that NPA guerrillas are thriving in remote barangays (villages) in Abra and mustering support from the hinterland villagers because of the apparent lack of government activity in these areas.

"The reason for our hinterland populace being prone (to NPA propaganda) is because as of this time in Abra, the communication lines such as the road networks leading to and from the different municipalities and town centers are very difficult," Dalmas said.

During the late 70's and early 80's, thousands of Tingguians (indigenous peoples of Abra) headed "to the hills" to join the NPA in the fight against the IMF-WB-backed Cellophil Resources Corporation of the Marcos dictatorship. The Tingguians feared their mountains will be logged by the CRC, a rayon manufacturer.

During the same time, tribal Bontoks and Kalingas (indigenous peoples of Mountain Province and Kalinga province) fought side by side with the NPA fighters to oppose the Chico River Basin Dam Project that would inundate vast ancestral lands and force thousands of peasant families out of their homes and farms.

The Civil Relations Service of the AFP in Ilocos and Cordillera said the number of NPA gerrilas in these areas has been on the rise. Maj. Elmer Quiros, group commander, noted a 4.5 percent increase in rebel strength even as he confirmed that some 200 rebels from the Bicol region were monitored by army troopers reportedly on test missions in Ilocos and Cordillera region.

‘Decades of neglect’

Government neglect of indigenous peoples and "encroachment" into their ancestral territories by government-sponsored extractive projects in the past decades fomented dissent and armed struggle for poor villagers in Abra.

Dalmas noted that most of the areas east of the Abra river, dividing the lowland towns from the upland Tingguians are very difficult to reach by vehicle. He cited the decade-old problem of villagers in upland Tineg town where most residents have to walk for a day to reach the town center.

Dalmas said that it is very difficult for the government agencies, including the military to be able to provide the basic services because of the situation of the road systems. "These are the issues that they (guerrillas) are exploiting because it is difficult for the government to provide these at this point in time."

They are exploiting government's failure or difficulty of bringing in basic services, education, poverty alleviation projects which government is able to deliver in other parts of the province and the region, Dalmas stressed. "Because of such road situations, communist rebels from these areas have the access to the populace," he lamented.

Dalmas even admitted that even army patrols are facing difficulty in reaching remote areas because of very bad road networks. Bulatlat.com

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