Arroyo vows to crush NPA, other threat groups

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has approved the implementation of Operation Plan Bantay Laya II, a military master plan to crush various internal security threats that include the communist New People’s Army by 2010. Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who announced the presidential approval, said the plan calls for the defeat of the communist insurgency by the time the President’s term expires. Esperon said the campaign plan, which will take effect next month, also calls for the destruction of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah and containing of the southern Philippines secessionist groups. "So 2010 is a deadline for us to finish this communist terrorist," Esperon said. Oplan Bantay Laya II is revival of the original Oplan Bantay Laya which was implemented on January 2002 and ends later this month. Esperon earlier said that the new campaign plan would include "developmental" components in the fight against insurgency. Other officials said the new and old campaign plans are similar in terms of the targeted threat groups. Arroyo, who is also the acting defense secretary, presided over a close-door with Esperon and the other top brass of the Armed Forces after the celebration of the military’s 74th founding anniversary in Camp Aguinaldo. In his speech, Esperon reported to the President the military’s feats under original Oplan Bantay Laya, including the reduction of the NPA strength from 12,000 members in 2002 to only 7,100 at present, which translates to a 1,000 reduction every year. Also, Esperon said the number of barangays affected by the communists has been declining for the past years. From a high of 12,510 in 2004, Esperon said the present number of barangays affected by the insurgents stand at 2,115. This year, Esperon said a regional secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines was killed in a clash. This is on top of 13 other guerilla front secretaries who have either surrendered, captured, or killed in combat. "If we cannot call that a success against the NPA, certainly, we would like to call that a momentum, a lot of momentum," said Esperon, adding that similar feats were also attained against the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Esperon said the top Abu Sayyaf leaders are on the run in the jungles of Sulu. "They are now mostly in Jolo and our troops are not letting up on them. We hope to corner them soon," Esperon said, referring to the group of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani. Esperon remarked on the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the MILF, which hit an impasse several months ago on the issue of ancestral domain. "The AFP is at peace with itself in its all-out support to the ongoing peace talks. Peace to us is as much success as winning in combat," Esperon said of the MILF, which is presently chaired by Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. Esperon attributed the success against the NPA, Abu Sayyaf, and MILF to the assistance provided by various sectors. "(It) would not have been possible without the support of other law enforcement agencies, the initiatives of well-meaning stakeholders and the continued vigilance of the Filipino people," he said. - GMANews.TV