CEBU, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines - Visayas Command has neutralized 156 New People’s Army from January 1 to June 30 this year.
This was reported during the command conference attended by all AFP units in the Visayas.
Of the 156 NPAs, 103 of them returned to the government's side, 42 died during encounters with government troops and 11 were captured in joint law enforcement operations.
This does not include the 223 weapons and 82 anti-personnel mines confiscated by the government troops.
The neutralized NPA terrorists include 12 high-value individuals.
VisCom commander Lieutenant General Benedict Arevalo praised his men for the success achieved.
"I would like to congratulate everyone for a very good job for the 1st Semester of 2023. The exceptional performance that you have shown manifests your strong desire and motivation to serve and protect our people and end the local communist armed conflict in this part of the country," said Arevalo.
It was during the months of April and May that the terrorist group was said to have experienced severe defeat.
In the month of April, 21 NPAs were neutralized and 25 weapons were confiscated.
Meanwhile, in the month of May, 40 NPAs were neutralized and 54 weapons were captured. — (FREEMAN)