Metro Manila, Philippines – Army troops are hunting down members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) after two soldiers were killed during an encounter in a village in Camarines Sur on Dec. 19, Friday.
In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, Major Frank Roldan, spokesperson for the 9th Infantry Division, said troops are on an “offensive mode” and that pursuit operations continue in the Bicol region.
The military identified the fatalities as the platoon leader with the rank of a lieutenant and a sergeant – their bodies retrieved and flown to their families over the weekend.
The soldiers were on a security patrol in the village of Cabungan in Balatan town in Camarines Sur province when they were killed by anti-personnel landmines, weapons the military said were banned under the International Humanitarian Law.
“May mga report na may nakikitang di kilalang armado to ensure security and safety ng community at malayang makapagdiwang ng Pasko. Kaya lang nung kino-confirm ang information, pinaputukan yung tropa,” Roldan said in an interview on Saturday, Dec. 20.
[TRANSLATION: To ensure the security and safety of the community, we acted on information about unidentified armed men. When they were confirming that information, our troops were fired upon.]
The army said the attack was orchestrated by the communist rebels and not linked to terror, echoing rhetoric of Malacanang that remnants of terrorist groups have been fragmented and operationally degraded amid loss of senior leaders or amirs.
The latest spate of insurgency attacks comes just as the military commemorated its 90th founding anniversary on Friday, during which President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. rejected claims that the Philippines is a terrorist training hotspot.
That tag surfaced after authorities confirmed that the two gunmen who killed 15 people and wounded several others in a mass shooting spree in Bondi beach in Australia had stayed in Davao City for a month, a few weeks before the tragedy.
Marcos boosted the morale of the military, congratulating them for dismantling terror networks and protecting the country’s maritime territory.
Despite the pursuit operations, Roldan said the army is encouraging the rebels to surrender their arms and return to the fold of the law.
“Higit limang dekada na po tayong nagdurusa. Yung ating mga kanayunan nahihirapan sa kanilang pang-araw araw na buhay, hindi makapunta sa kanilang mga taniman, hindi makapag-aral ang mga bata dahil sa takot sa kanilang presensya,” Roldan said.
“Ngayong panahong ito, bigyan po nating daan yung kapayapaan na hinihingi ng mga kababayan natin lalo na yung mga nasa liblib na lugar,” he added.
[TRANSLATION: We have been suffering for over five decades. Our villagers cannot live in peace, cannot farm land, and the children cannot attend school out of fear of the rebels’ presence. This season, let us allow peace to reign especially in the far-flung towns.]
In a separate statement, army chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete condemned the attack and sent his condolences to the families of the two soldiers.
“This may not replace the lives of your loved ones, but their sacrifices will not be in vain. We will not stop until we achieve justice and restore the peace they died to protect,” Nafarrete’s statement read.
