This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 37, October 23-29, 2005
37 Soldiers Killed, 42 Others Wounded in
Fresh NPA Offensives
Recent military and NPA
reports reveal escalation of armed hostilities in many provinces across the
country.
BY BULATLAT The Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) recently revealed a number of successful raids on suspected
camps abandoned by the Marxist New People’s Army (NPA) in Aurora and other
provinces. Before this, AFP operations led to the capture or killing of a number
of NPA guerrillas in Ilocos Norte and Isabela in northern Philippines, and in
Samar, Negros, Butuan and Agusan del Sur, central and south of the country. Defense Secretary Avelino
Cruz had earlier predicted that the NPA, with which government has been in armed
hostilities since 1969, will be wiped out in 10 years. Based on recent news
dispatches from the underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its
united front umbrella, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the
NPA – the CPP’s armed component – claims to have stepped up its own attacks on
AFP units and outposts. In Mindanao, Jorge "Ka Oris"
Madlos, National Democratic Front (NDF) spokesperson in southern Philippines,
said in an Oct. 17 statement emailed to media there were at least 25
“successful” armed actions in less than a month - from Sept. 24-Oct. 10. He also
said that NPA tactical offensives in Mindanao have intensified to an average of
1-2 tactical offensives each day from the previous rate of 1-2 tactical
offensives every week. Among the offensives,
Madlos said that the NPA raid in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur and ambushes in
Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental and in Mat-i, Surigao City gave “severe blows
to the enemy,” with 18 soldiers killed and 27 wounded. The military lost 15
soldiers with another 15 wounded, the command said. No casualty was reported on
the NPA side. Another dispatch reported
that an NPA unit in mid-northern Cebu, central Visayas, overran the Philippine
Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion in Barangay (village) Sumon, Tuburan Oct. 15 In northern Philippines,
two raids surprised the 54th IBPA based in San Carlos, Echague,
Isabela, on Sept. 22 and 24. The attacks led to the killing of five soldiers.
In Abra, northern Luzon,
the Agustin Begnalen Command reported that it conducted punitive operations on
Oct. 14 against elements of the 41st and 77th IBs, both based in
Bituen Patrol Base, Barangay Lenneng, Baay-Licuan. Meanwhile, soldiers from
the 68th IB reportedly suffered casualties when they attacked suspected NPA
guerillas in Sitio Kamatis, Brgy. Caagutayan, San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, in
southern Luzon, on Oct. 2. A lieutenant was killed while four other soldiers
were wounded. Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
But AFP in tit-for-tat with armed guerrillas
In southern Luzon, the Romulo Jallores Command reported through a statement
emailed to media that NPA units in Bicol, carried out around 38 offensives from
Sept. 24-Oct. 1.
Seized by the NPA in the raid were four M16s, four M14s and a Motorola handheld
radio, the dispatch said. The NPA claimed to have killed three soldiers.