The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Tuesday that the only remaining “weakened” guerilla front of the New People’s Army (NPA) can no longer stage any major operations in the country.
At a press conference, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Padilla said the military organization is “well within targets” in eradicating guerilla fronts, noting that the weakened units went down from seven to one this year.
“At this point po, there is only one weakened guerilla front and more and more municipalities and areas are already declaring an insurgency-free status,” Padilla said.
“As they have already been weakened, the guerilla front, they are no longer capable of staging major operations. Also, meron na rin silang [they also have] leadership vacuum and they are also not capable of recruiting any more additional personnel into their ranks,” she added.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) announced earlier this month that of the four remaining weakened guerilla fronts, three were about to be declared for dismantling.
NTF-ELCAC Secretariat executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said there were 89 active guerilla fronts when the NTF-ELCAC was established in December 2018. Now, he said there are no more active guerilla fronts.
Padilla said the AFP aims to sustain such “gains.” More information will also be given about the remaining guerilla front after the AFP command conference slated before the year ends, which is expected to be attended by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. —RF, GMA Integrated News
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