Quezon city: Even the remaining communist insurgents are well aware of their dwindling offensive capabilities, as well as their capacity to influence communities, a ranking National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said on Thursday. "We have to understand that the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front) has recognized na (that their capabilities are already) dwindling, in terms of manpower, influenced barangays, and number of firearms," NTF-ELCAC Executive Director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., said in a media briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
According to Philippines News Agency, the decrease in the communist insurgents' capabilities has been attributed to the government's focused military and civic operations, which include livelihood and integration assistance for those interested in surrendering. "It has been consistently dwindling ever since. And the latest report was that they only have 800 NPAs, a little over 800 all over the country, down to (their peak of) about 25,000 in the late 80s," Torres said.
Proof of these dwindling capabilities, he said, was the CPP's "3rd Rectification Movement" on Dec. 26, 2023. "Meaning, it's an acknowledgement that they need to rectify, politically, militarily, and all the other mechanisms (of their movement)."
He noted that at its peak, the CPP-NPA-NDF had influenced more than 9,500 barangays, or about "20 percent of the total barangays all over the country." "And it was painstakingly cleared by our security forces, foremost, with the support of local chief executives and other agencies," he said.
In response, the NTF-ELCAC official said that the government has come up with an integrated territorial defense system and a barangay intelligence net. "So, when these two things are functioning in a barangay to ward off any threat group, hindi lamang insurgents, pati na rin mga addict, mga kriminal, naii-relay kaagad sa security sector kaya mabilis ang interaction, mabilis ang action (not only insurgents, but also addicts, criminals, the presence of these groups can be relayed immediately to the security sector, so that interactions are faster). So multiply that 9,000 times. So that is our way in preserving and sustaining our peace gains," Torres said.
Efforts are also being made to capacitate local government officials in delivering basic services to their barangays. "(The armed encounters are) a manifestation, an indication that our integrated territorial defense systems are working in response to their rectification campaign. We need to frustrate them in their recovery efforts," Torres said.
As this developed, the Negros Island Region Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Forensic Unit chief Col. Reynaldo Calaoa, at the same press briefing, said that 11 out of the 19 NPA rebels killed in the April 19 clash in Toboso, Negros Occidental tested positive for gunpowder residue. "Out of the 19 bodies, 11 of them were found out to be positive for gunpowder nitrates," he said.
Calaoa said this is an "indication" that the 11 indeed fired their weapons against troops of the Philippine Army's 19th Infantry Battalion. He declined to say who among the 19 tested positive for gunpowder residue, pending completion of the investigation.
Slain rebels who tested negative, meanwhile, could be "false negatives," which can be influenced by the exposure of the bodies to water, he said. He also noted that most of the bodies were immersed in water, including their hands.
Another factor being considered is the distance of the gun muzzle from the hands of the rebels. As the slain NPA rebels were carrying rifles, the muzzle of these weapons was further away from their hands compared to the shorter handguns. Other factors include moisture, a high amount of which often results in lesser gunpowder residues; and the direction of the wind, making it possible for gunpowder residues not to reach the hands of the slain NPAs.
