Army reports 124 terrorists were killed in first half of 2020

The Philippine Army said it had 279 armed encounters with communist and local terrorist groups this first half of 2020, resulting in 124 terrorists killed.

Ninety-five terrorists were captured and 422 firearms were recovered in these encounters, the Army said in a press release.

It added that 1,705 terrorists have surrendered in the first six months of 2020, turning in 378 assorted firearms.

Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay said among the terrorists "neutralized" were nine high-profile individuals, including Central Committee members Julius Soriano Giron, chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and his wife Anne Margarette Tauli, secretary of the Regional White Area Committee of Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee (ICRC).

Gapay said Giron was killed in a gunfight after he resisted arrest when a search warrant was to be served on him last March 13 in Baguio City.

The Army said Giron, as National Military Commission head, was behind the deaths of a number of military personnel and innocent civilians, arson leading to loss of economic assets and civilian properties, and the displacement of thousands of residents due to harassment and terrorist acts.

Tauli's surrender meanwhile, is a big blow to the ICRC's resource generation activities, the Army said.

Gapay said he expects that terrorist groups will be defeated soon due to the series of losses incurred by the communist groups and the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will take effect midnight of July 18, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed Friday.

"Our emphasis on our ground unit's operational readiness enabled us to support and protect the communities from the NPAs amidst the pandemic. The empowerment of our non-commissioned officers, being the backbone of the Army, helped propagate the essence of professionalism down the line. It is all part of our thrust on operational excellence," Gapay said.

"All these efforts are part of our commitment to the Filipino people that we are ready to respond even through an unprecedented crisis such as this pandemic, while securing our communities against various threat groups. We will sustain our momentum and we will remain focused on mission effectiveness," he added. —KG, GMA News