More troops to fight NPAs in Davao region

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is planning to send additional Army troops to the Davao region in the wake of recent clashes with insurgents that claimed the lives of soldiers and civilians.  

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said the Davao region will be their priority area given the huge concentration of communist rebels there.

“There will be a realignment (of forces). Our priority will be the Davao area because elements of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) are operating there,” Mabanta told radio station dzBB yesterday. 

“(AFP chief) Gen. (Ricardo) David calls it (Davao) the center of gravity when it comes to the operations of the Armed Forces. We will be concentrating most of our forces in the Davao area without leaving behind other possible hot spots,” he added.

Mabanta did not provide additional details but said the troop augmentation would come “within the next days.” 

“More forces will be deployed, Army forces in particular, for the Davao area. The problem is not huge but among the hot spots, we feel that this is the area where we should exert more time and effort,” he said.  

Mabanta said some 30 percent of NPA combatants are concentrated in the Davao region.

“Perhaps if we defeat the enemy in that area, pretty soon the other areas will fall down like dominoes,” he said.  

Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade said insurgents in Davao have mounted attacks that have affected innocent civilians.

“The NPA rebels have committed a lot of atrocities in Davao. They hurt civilians, including indigenous people,” he said.  

The additional troops will complement those under the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, which is under the AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command.

The military has branded Davao as one of the “last bastions” of insurgency in the country. Rebels in the region managed to launch attacks that claimed the lives of military personnel.

Last Friday, two soldiers, Pfcs. Elansio Alonsagay and Kimpio Labawan, were killed and four civilians were wounded in an ambush by NPA guerrillas in Paquibato district in Davao City.

The victims were on board motorcycles to attend a tribal forum in Paquibato when they were waylaid by 20 rebels in Sitio Marugasan, Barangay Colosas.

The Arroyo administration sought to wipe out the decades-old communist rebellion by June 30 but failed. The military, however, said it has significantly weakened the influence of the communist guerrillas in the countryside, and now aims to end insurgency in two to three years.