SUMMARY
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At least 8 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed by the police and military in Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental on Tuesday, March 23 – 6 days before the founding anniversary of the armed group.
The communist rebels were killed by joint forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in an encounter with 40 other NPAs in Sitio Agit, Barangay Trinidad.
The encounter lasted for 3 hours.
NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and will be celebrating its 52nd anniversary on March 29.
The military said they were anticipating the movements of the rebel group and conducted surveillance prior to the encounter.
“We anticipate mga movement talaga nila dahil alam mo naman anniversary ng NPA sa March 29, ‘di ba? So binabantayan talaga ng 303rd Brigade kasi d’yan nagma-mass up – consistent ‘yung report ng mga civilians at saka ng mga informants natin sa area,” Colonel Gerry Besana of the AFP Central Command (Centcom) said in a phone interview.
(We anticipate their movements because the NPA anniversary is on March 29, right? So the 303rd Brigade is really monitoring them because they usually mass up in the area – reports from civilians and informants were consistent.)
State forces recovered high-powered firearms, including 6 M1, 2 M14, 1 M4, 1 M60, and 1 KG9 rifles. The authorities also recovered improvised explosive devices.
Hundreds of soldiers and policemen outnumbered the rebels in the clash that resulted in the casualties.
“Eh talagang marami din ‘yung tropa kasi, bale apat na kumpanya yata nag-ano e, nagtulong-tulong e (We really had many troops. At least 4 military companies joined forces for the encounter),” Besana added.
Established in 1969, the NPA serves as the armed group of the CPP to further advance its communist ideals in the country. In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 70 that ordered a “whole-of-nation” movement to counter insurgency. – Rappler.com
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