AFP: Top NPA leader captured in Agusan del Sur; 1 dead in Samar encounter

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said a senior leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) was among eight alleged insurgents who were captured in Agusan del Sur last week.

In a press briefing, Colonel John Paul Solgado, chief of the Combined Joint Information Bureau of Exercise Balikatan, said an alleged top ranking NPA leader and seven others were captured by soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division in joint law enforcement operation Agusan del Sur on June 13.

This raises the number of those apprehended by military forces from January 1 to June 12 this year to 44, according to the AFP.  

In another operation on June 15 in Eastern Samar, an alleged NPA member died in a 15-minute firefight between remnants of an alleged terrorist group and government troops in Barangay Pinanag-an in the town of Borongan.

AFP Spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the encounter resulted from information provided by civilians who said they were being subjected to extortion by the armed group.

“The 15-minute firefight, prompted by civilian reports of extortion, underscores the military's intensified operations against CDG's dwindling presence in the region.  The civilians tipped, troops moved, the terrorists lost. It's not just firepower, it's people power that helps extinguish insurgency in our communities,” said Padilla.

Earlier on June 9, a 30-minute clash between 30 alleged NPA members and units from the Army’s 8th Infantry Division took place in Barangay Can-aponte, San Jose de Buan, Samar.

The AFP said such operations serve to weaken the communist movement in the country. In the past six months, the military said 776 persons have surrendered while 44 were killed in military operations.

Seized from the various operations were a total of 419 firearms, 257 anti-personnel mines, and 80 encampments.

“The numbers do not lie, neither does our resolve. With hundreds neutralized and dozens of camps dismantled, the enemy's grip is loosening because our presence is tightening,” Padilla said. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News