Troops seize 14 NPA camps in NCotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Government forces overran 14 enclaves, some with overhead bunkers and fortifications, of the New People’s Army in Magpet town in North Cotabato following tactical operations that started last month, Army officials said.

Col. Ademar Tomaro, commander of the 602nd Brigade, said the feat was a result of the cooperation of residents in hinterland barangays in Magpet to the military’s campaign to flush NPAs out of the municipality on the behest of local folks complaining of the rebels' taxation activities.

Combined combatants of the 57th, 40th and 7th Infantry Battalions, the elite Scout Rangers and Army Special Forces, begun clearing at least three barangays in Magpet from NPA occupation late November, following a series of roadside bombings in the area and harassments by NPAs of villages whose residents refused to shell out “protection money” and food.

More than 30 NPAs have reportedly been wounded in the series of Army-rebel encounters in Magpet in the past three weeks.

The most intense of the encounters erupted December 3, where soldiers used 105 Howitzer cannons to prevent rebels from getting close to a barangay, where the rebels were supposed to collect “revolutionary taxes” from farmers.

Villagers displaced by the hostilities have confirmed seeing dozens of wounded NPAs, most of them adolescents, being carried away by their comrades while fleeing from the scene.

Major Gen. Caesar Ronnie Ordoyo, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, said he was elated with the initial accomplishments of the 602nd Brigade and all Army units involved in the government’s pacification campaign in Magpet.

“These operations were launched in response to mounting complaints by local residents on the abuses by the NPAs. People were coerced to pay taxes and give rebels food, in total disregard of human rights and the International Humanitarian Law,” Ordoyo said.

Ordoyo said the 6th ID, through the 602nd Brigade, is ready to help NPAs apply for the government’s reconciliation program if they decide to return to the fold of law.