AFP belies NPA claim of growing rebel strength

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac — Contrary to rebel claims, the number of New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla fronts in Central and Northern Luzon has dwindled from 28 to 21, a military official said yesterday.

Col. Gregorio Catapang, Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) operations chief, said continued counter-insurgency operations "north of Metro Manila" have caused the NPA’s armed strength to weaken.

"In fact, the past three years saw a reduction in the number of guerrilla fronts in Central and Northern Luzon with the launching of Oplan Bantay Laya by the Nolcom," he said.

Setbacks in the battlefield and "dwindling mass base support" have forced the NPA to merge some of its "weakened" forces, he added.

However, Catapang warned that the NPA still plans to deploy "armed teams of partisans" in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

"The rebels intend to demonstrate that their supposedly unarmed cadres and leaders in CPP legal front organizations in urban areas should not be touched," he said.

On the other hand, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, Nolcom chief, said the "paper tiger" that is the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was "showing off" when it announced that NPA guerrilla fronts nationwide have increased from 128 to 130.

"The truth about these so-called guerrilla fronts is that these are mere skeletal forces, and would not even equate to the CPP-NPA’s claim of a revolutionary government in rural areas," he said.

"The so-called Red political power being brandished by the CPP-NPA in the countryside is nothing but the terrorism they are inflicting on the people to intimidate them into submission."

Catapang said the CPP had admitted that there had been "setbacks" in the rebel movement attributed to "internal problems" and the severity of military offensives.

"This is also a confirmation of the recurrent need of the CPP-NPA to replenish its dwindling fighters and for additional firearms," he said.

Catapang said the NPA’s armed strength had been depleted since people in areas where they wield power and influence are tired of the rebels.

"The CPP is now even asking above-ground activists who have been included in the military watch list to become full-time fighters," he said.

The Nolcom covers Central Luzon, the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley and the rest of the Sierra Madre, and the Cordilleras.

In a statement marking the NPA’s 36th founding anniversary on Tuesday, the CPP said the NPA’s guerrilla fronts have increased from 128 to 130 nationwide.

It now seeks to further increase NPA guerrilla fronts to a "stable number of 140 in at least 11,000 barrios" or barangays, the CPP added.

The NPA’s arsenal of automatic rifles and other high-powered weapons has also "significantly increased," the rebel movement said.