Army: Bicol rebels now in disarray

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Army officials here believe that the communist movement in Bicol is now in disarray following the killing of some of its ranking officers in a clash with government troops in Juban, Sorsogon last July 4.

Col. Joselito Kakilala, commander of the Army’s 903rd Infantry Brigade operating in Sorsogon and Masbate, said the attack of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on police marshals of a fun run joined by students of the Bicol University-Gubat campus last Sunday was a “desperate move” on the part of the insurgents, as stray bullets hit the legs of college sophomore Lian Galicio Layug.

Lt. Col. Medel Aguilar, Army’s Bicol spokesman, said the attack on the fun run and the harassment of Army headquarters in Jovellar and Daraga towns in Albay show that there is now a leadership crisis in the rebel movement as a result of the killing of Greg Bañares, long-time spokesman and secretary-general of the National Democratic Front in Bicol, and other rebel leaders in Sorsogon and nearby provinces.

Aguilar though said government troops are now even more vigilant to thwart further attacks. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe