3 civvies dead as NPA attacks Army humanitarian mission in Surigao
‘Height of insensitivity’ by terror group decried
THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the local government of Surigao del Sur, condemned the New People’s Army (NPA) for staging an armed attack against the members of the Philippine Army conducting humanitarian mission in the town of Carmen that left 3 civilians dead on Wednesday, December 15, 2021.
DILG undersecretary and spokesperson, Jonathan Malaya, during an interview by state-run PTV4, said the incident again showed that the terror group’s “height of insensitivity, callousness, and opportunism knows no bounds.”
“It is a “deplorable act against Filipinos in the middle of crisis,” Malaya added.
Governor Alexander Pimentel said elements of the 4th Infantry Division are responding to their call for assistance during a “pre-emptive evacuation” of residents with the approach of tropical storm ‘Odette,’ when the NPA, the armed group of the Communist Party of the Philippines, (CPP) staged the attack in Bgy. Esperanza.
“Nag-eevac [evacuation] kami ngayon dito sa Carmen, unfortunately sa Bgy. Esperanza, sa Municipality of Carmen kung saan tumutulong ang Army, inambush ng NPA. Tatlo ang patay na sibilyan,” Pimentel disclosed during the same television program.
He said as part of their pre-emptive evacuation protocol, residents living in landslide prone areas are being prioritized for transport to safer locations within the municipality.
The province of Surigao is expected to bear the brunt of the typhoon that is expected to make landfall this Thursday, December 16, 2021.
“Ayun nga nag-eevac tayo, hindi natin alam bakit naman nila (NPA) inambush,” the governor added.
Malaya said the ambush only shows how little regard the terrorist group has for the lives of ordinary Filipinos.
This would not be the first time that the NPA would assault government security forces conducting humanitarian missions in the country’s far-flung areas.
Last year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were also incidents where the communist terror group ambushed soldiers and policemen delivering badly-needed vaccine shots in the provinces.
The CPP-NPA and its legal front machinery, the National Democratic Front (NDF), including their top leaders such as CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison, have been officially designated as terrorist organizations last year by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).
Their designation has been affirmed and is now legally-binding and enforceable after the Supreme Court last December 7, 2021, upheld the constitutionality of the majority of the provisions of RA 11479, otherwise known as the ‘Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.’
The upheld provisions include the legality of the ATC and all its decisions and activities related to the effective implementation of the law.
Pimentel added that the names of the 3 civilian victims by the NPA is yet to be established but pursuit operation against the suspects is already underway.
