NPA marks 40th year, vows to intensify attacks on government forces

MANILA, Philippines - The communist New People’s Army marked its 40th founding anniversary yesterday and the guerrillas vowed to intensify attacks on government forces while the military expressed confidence the rebels would be defeated by next year.

Greg Banares, spokesman of the National Democratic Front in Bicol, said in a statement released yesterday that the NPA, amid the intervention of the US soldiers in the region, would continue to intensify the guerrilla war.

“With the people, red fighters would continue to clear the way for the success of the national revolution,” Banares said.

Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, chief of the Armed Forces Civil Relations Service, said that every year the strength of the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, continues to decline alongside the collapse of its ideological structure.

“After 40 years their numbers are going down, their ideology is barely recognized and a majority of their fighters are there only for the money they receive to support their families,” he said.

He said that the continuous and aggressive anti-insurgency campaign of the government, topped with development projects would help bring about the defeat of the NPA.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Victor Ibrado said the NPA remains as the country’s biggest security threat.

Ibrado expressed confidence that the NPA would be neutralized by 2010, which is the deadline set by President Arroyo to defeat the communist rebels.

“Of course as of now they are still our biggest problem as far as our peace and order, security situation is concerned but we are confident that we are slowly being able to reduce the strength of the firearms and membership and as I said we are optimistic that we can really bring them down to an insignificant level by the end of 2010,” he said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines earlier said that combat and non-combat operations during the past year have resulted in the downgrading of the New People’s Army’s personnel, firepower and influence over communities.

“Most significant is the reduction of the number of guerrilla fronts because at the start of the year they have 87. At the end of 2008, they are left with 62 so we can say now that we are hitting the communist terrorist movement simultaneously in their political and military components,” said Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, AFP public affairs office chief.

Torres said that for the past year, they have reduced the NPA’s strength by nine percent from 5,760 down to 5,239 by the end of this year. The military also reduced the rebels’ firearms by five percent.

The affected barangays, according to Torres, have been reduced by 28 percent by year’s end, from 1,919 at the start of the year to 1,381.

He said that out of 300 identified CPP-NPA personalities for the year, 173 have standing warrants of arrests for various charges.