MEMBERS of the communist terrorist movement in Cagayan Valley are next to experience the full measure of the government’s might after another coordinated air and ground attack conducted by the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air Force last September 21, 2021, in the remote village of Bgy. Dungeg, Sta. Teresita, Cagayan.
According to the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) under area commander, Lt. General Arnulfo Marcelo Buros Jr., the mopping up operation the next day by elements from the 501st Infantry Brigade, 5TH Infantry Division, resulted to the recovery of the bodies of 5 terrorists who were immediately killed during the 20-minutes bombing run conducted by the PAF before the entry of the ground troops.
Target of the assault are the remnants of the ‘East Front Komiteng Probinsiya Cagayan’ of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), both listed terrorist organizations in the Philippines and abroad.
Major Jekyll Julian Dulawan, 5th ID spokesman, said the coordinated attack was made after an Army patrol identified the location of a terrorist camp in Bgy. Dungeg where improvised anti-personnel mines (APMs) are also being manufactured and in order to protect the lives of the ground troops. He added no casualty on their side was reported during the mopping up operation.
The NPA is notorious for ringing their camps with APMs to slow down the advance of infantry units. The tactic not only gave the terrorists that a military assault is already under way but also, gave them the opportunity to cause needless injury and death to the attackers.
The full use of the government’s arsenal against terrorist groups, particularly against the CPP-NPA, should not have come as a surprise but it continues to be so, insofar as the armed communists are concerned.
It can be recalled that last August 16, 2021, in the town of Dolores, Eastern Samar, the Army’s 8th Infantry Division also launched a full-scale ground and air assault that resulted to the death of 20 CPP-NPA terrorists, with no casualty reported on the side of the military.
The “novelty” of the attack shocked the CPP with its information officer, ‘Marco Valbuena, bitterly complaining the government’s “disproportionate use of force” while admitting the success of the military assault is a “big loss” to the terrorist movement (see also Pinoy Exposé Volume 2, Issue No. 33).
The full use of the government’s arsenal against terrorist groups, particularly against the CPP-NPA, should not have come as a surprise but it continues to be so, insofar as the armed communists are concerned.
M/Gen. Pio Diñoso, in a talk with Pinoy Exposé, had already warned the ‘Reds’ that the operation in Samar is a harbinger of things to come.
“If they won’t choose the path for peace, they will face the same plight. This is to show that the Philippine Army is strong and has the capability to end this armed conflict,” Diñoso said (see also Pinoy Exposé Volume 2, Issue No. 35).
In the operation in Cagayan, Dulawan also said that the command had made preparation to give a decent burial to the 5 recovered bodies as none had stepped forward to identify and claim them.
Three of them was only identified thru their aliases as ‘Titan,’ ‘Dyosa,’ and ‘Marlon,’ while the remaining two remained unidentified.
He added that after receiving the last rites from a local priest, the bodies were buried in the public cemetery of Sta. Teresita last September 24, 2021.
“If families would come forward later, their bodies would be exhumed,” the Philippine News Agency quoted the official as saying.
The operation also came on the heel of the surrender to the 5TH ID of 7 active NPA members last September 15, 2021, in Baggao, Cagayan.
The unit said they decided to forego armed struggle because they are “already tired” of fighting the government.
The 7 are also members of the East Front of the CPP’s ‘Komiteng Rehiyon – Cagayan Valley’ (KR-CV) and brought with them their firearms consisting of 5 M16 rifles, 1 M653 rifle, 1 M14 rifle and other war materiel.
Burgos noted that the latest surrender brought the total number of NPA terrorists who surrendered in Nolcom’s jurisdiction to 633 from Jan. 1, 2021 to date.
A total of 259 firearms were also turned over to the authorities.
The figure is also on top of the 780 members of various CPP front organizations who have also decided to turn their back against the terrorist organization, Burgos added further.