Camp Lapulapu, Cebu City – The Visayas Command (VISCOM) informs that the CPP-NPA in the Visayas region are now grasping for breath, as the terrorist group ends the 1st Quarter of the current year with devastating losses.
Military reports said, a total of 44 armed encounters transpired throughout the Visayas region from January 1 to date, all of which are government-initiated. These encounters led to the neutralization of a total of 51 NPA terrorists; 20 of whom died during encounters, 27 returned to the folds of the law, while four were apprehended.
Among the 51 neutralized NPA terrorists during the period are three high-value NPA personalities; Rolando Caballera aka Chow/Brooks, a member of the NPA’s Regional Executive Committee in Eastern Visayas who died during the encounter in Albuera, Leyte on February 10; Domingo Compoc aka Cobra/Silong, the top NPA leader in Bohol who died during the encounter in Bilar, Bohol on February 23; and Rena Rhea Camariosa aka Kira/Sheena, the 2nd Deputy Secretary of the NPA’s Southern Panay Front (SPF), who was left to die by her comrades following an encounter with the government forces in San Joaquin, Iloilo.
Commodore Oscar D Canlas Jr PN, the Acting Commander of VISCOM emphasized that they will sustain their momentum in pursuing the remnants of the CPP-NPA to ensure that the terrorist group will never again set their foothold in the region, “The CPP-NPA are now grasping for breath. Their leaders continue to fall, and they continue to lose valuable resources to foster their armed struggle. As such, we will sustain our momentum and will not allow them from gaining their foothold in the region, ever again.”
Apart from the losses in manpower, it was also disclosed that the CPP-NPA’s firepower capability has been degraded drastically as the government forces seized a total of 68 firearms during the period; 46 of which are high-powered while 22 are low-powered firearms.
Commo Canlas further emphasized that “The CPP-NPA in the region are now on the brink of irreversible collapse. Their manpower continues to decline, and their firepower has been significantly degraded. All the more reason for us to sustain our gains and push harder to end the local communist armed conflict here in the Visayas.”
He then concluded as he reiterated their call to the few remaining members of the CPP-NPA to return to the folds of the law, “Our efforts will continue to be relentless. We will not hesitate to use our full military might to subdue the few remaining members of the terrorist group. As such, we call upon them to lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law while they still can. They should learn from the mistakes of their fallen comrades if they value their lives and the lives of their families.”
