My Personal Assessment on the Insurgency Situation in Negros Island

The Island of Negros is composed of many rich landowners compared to some other provinces or island in the Philippines like Mindanao and Samar wherein strong insurgency movement exist. Negros has many militias and private security groups that were launched by landlords due to the fact that they were free or compelled by New Peoples Army to pay revolutionary taxes or funding. Some of landlords are obliged to give the said taxes because of the threat of the NPAs to them.

The NPAs used different ideologies and propagandas just to gain the sympathy of the public. They cited that there were no land reforms and nationalistic industrialization. There is no program to develop agriculture and above all widespread competition that exist in different agencies of our government. For this reason the Philippines still belongs to non developing countries, remain backwards and mass poverty and suffering at the people particularly workers and peasants. The revolutionary movements believes that it is only way is by launching a democratic revolution primarily thru armed struggle and the grabbing of political power from the hands of the government as the solution to the basic problems of the people.

According to leftist critics that even the government created Citizens Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGU) allegedly with much of the same personnel hoodlums and semi-criminals. They accuse the military of having organized them to carry out dirty job in the anti insurgency was the summary executions, threats and illegal detentions.

In the time of late Pres. Marcos, the reputation is not as bad as the Civil Home Defense Force (CHDF), but it is still considered unprofessional, undisciplined, brutal and corrupt. Some of the officer, or might as well say, many of them are not interested on how to have an efficient counter insurgency measures but rather they are quite interested on how to become rich while on service.

After the regime of the Marcoss an operation Oplan Mamamayan was launched with a specific objectives that is to regain the trust and heart of the people by designing propaganda drives and social medical services to affected communities.

In August of 1989, a new master campaign strategy, called Oplan Lambat Bitag was launched by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This serves as a priority fronts in the places were communists were believed to be strongest. On the write up from The Philippine Daily Inquirer dated August 17, 1989, the then army chief Gen. Manuel Cacanando, on his press conference said that combat troops are to be deployed to strategic and tactical choke points and key terrain in the hinterlands to deny their use by the enemy. The plan provided a combination of offensive drives by conventional forces and social operations forms. It is composed of nine men highly trained in combat, Psychological Warfare and Intelligence designed to be the counterpart of guerilla units of the enemy.

According to Negros Occidental Governor Daniel Lacson, this approach of the Armed Forces of the Philippines decisively weakens the insurgency movement. The Manila Standard dated July of 1989 quoted him as saying that the NPAs were now on the run and their forces had been scattered. This offensive move succeeded by temporarily disbanding some of the regular New Peoples Army units.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines successfully penetrated the communist movement by sending DPAs or Depenetration Agents. They managed to get access to some highly sensitive information like handouts, locations of camps, means of communication and caches. And in the latter years, they have manage to capture some of the big names behind the New Peoples Army and some of the spectacular catch was in Bacolod City in March 8, 1989 by the Negros Occidental Island Commander, Nemesio Demafiles.

Later that year, more arrest was successful and the government claimed that the DPAs were probably the one strongly advocating the internal purge. The cynic said, the best protection against becoming a purge victim is to be on the side of the purgers.

Last December 25, 2012, despite of the holiday ceasefire between the Governor and the rebels, the military with the joint participation of the Philippine National Police, successfully arrested a leader of the NPA who has a 5.2M reward on his head. He hides from the aliases, Tatay and Edon, but his full name is Felimon Mendrez who they believe a high ranked leader of the NPA in Central Visayas and also rank No. 6 in the most wanted list of the country.

He was arrested in Brgy. Tumod of Manjuyod, town in Negros Occidental by a combine force of the 302 nd Infantry Brigade and the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office by virtue of arrest warrants to Rebellion and Robbery-in-Band.

Mendrez is believe to be the present Deputy Secretary of the Central Visayas Regional Party committee and as well as the commander of the Regional Strike Force Komiteng Rehiyonal Negros. Captain Aniceto Naz of 302 nd Infantry Brigade said. Major General Jose Mabanta Jr. of 3rd Infantry Division also added. Law enforcement operations shall continue even as we observe a suspension on military ceasefire. This is part of your security forces of protecting communities, government and private establishment.

The rebels are disguising themselves as members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and Naz claimed that Mendrez was directly involve in the attack and burning of the military outpost in Brgy. Bug-ang, Tubuso, Negros Occidental last August 28, 2010. Director of the PRO-7, Chief Superintendent Marcelo Garbo said that the military and PNP are always on guard on protection of vital installations both commercial and business establishment.

Garbo also added and I quote We have known the CommunistTerrorists would highlight the celebration. I know that Mendrez was a big loss to the rebel organization considering that he was number two in the most wanted list in the Central Visayas.

There are lots of plans of the government specially the AFP about the anti-insurgency, one of which is the implementation of the anti insurgency campaign into its full swing but they need to break through the combat operations against the armed NPAs.

Col. Cesar Yano of the 302nd Infantry Brigade said that they have been conducting tactical operations without left-up against the rebels of Southern Negros. However, the NPA is not cooperating. Major General Vicente Porto of the 3rd Infantry Division Commander ordered the army field commander to run against time to reduce the NPA presence in Negros into an insignificant level. He also ordered military commanders in Western Visayas to flush-out rebels from their bases.

Lt. Col. Franco Nemesio Gacal of 11 th Infantry Battalion commander said that one of the strategies of the NPA to humiliate the AFP is to avoid armed confrontations with the soldiers. He also said that they have received reports that some armed rebels went to temporary inactive status and hid their firearms.

AFP Chief Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit said and I quote, A discipline and better equipped army soldier will deliver the winning shots for the AFP, He also added this is not the time to relax as we have all the time tomorrow, accomplish your targets today so our countrymen well never have no worry about peace and security tomorrow.

If Bohol province is the nation's model of an insurgency free province, then Escalante city is one of the epitomes for Western Visayas on an effort towards that same objective for peace. At least we can see the effort of the government on how to suppress the insurgents in our Province.

One thing I am proud of this, is that, we never quit on reaching our goals, to make Negros Occidental an insurgent free province. But we cannot do this without the active support of the community. We need them, indeed, and they need us as well. We can reach this goal by a mere cooperation with each other, the community and the police. There are still lots of things to do to make Negros an insurgent free province. That is why we are here, to help this province reach its sweetest goal, to free our people from worries, to free our children from harm. We are here to fight for the province.

On this ground, let me leave you a challenge, Let us continue fighting, not for us, not for the government, but let us fight for the next generation of future heroes.