DAVAO CITY—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expecting the last hurrah from the underground left-wing organizations in the eastern half of Mindanao after the government military dismantled 28 of 32 combat guerrilla formations in the area.
Lt. Gen. Greg T. Almerol, commander of AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom), said he was anticipating “the near end” of the communist insurgency in his command’s area of jurisdiction, which was also one of the heavily guerrilla-infested places in the country.
He said EastMinCom’s various military operations last year have dismantled five sub-regional committees, nine guerrilla fronts and four vertical NPA units.
Of the 32 fronts that EastMinCom has to confront since the onset of Campaign Plan “Kalinaw Sidlakang Mindanao” in 2017, 28 or 88 percent had “already crumbled, while the four remaining guerrilla fronts are already at their weakest.”
Among the dismantled units was the GF19 SRC Southland, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), which Almerol said was noted for recruiting tribal residents in the Caraga Region.
He said the EastMinCom also “neutralized” 533 armed New People’s Army regulars, with 71 killed, 48 captured and 416 surrendered from January to December last year.
Some 198 underground mass organizations and personalities also withdrew their support to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Almerol said.
The EastMinCom said among the high-profile individuals who were neutralized last year were Menandro “Bok” Villanueva, the secretary of Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC)/Komisyon Mindanao (KOMMID) and the third vice chairman of the CPP; Pedro “Gonyong” Codaste, the second top-ranking New People’s Army commander in Mindanao; and 55 other guerrilla leaders.
Government soldiers also confiscated 631 firearms and 121 anti-personnel mines and discovered 91 enemy hideouts.
By October last year, the AFP declared the Davao Region “insurgency-free” which was corroborated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.