TACLOBAN CITY – The remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Samar Island now are classified as roving bandits with no single village official supporting their ideology, an Army official said Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division told reporters that the remaining NPA rebels are jittery with the continued deaths, capture, and surrender of their leaders.
“The remaining 180 active regular NPA members are now roving bandits with the dismantling of two guerilla fronts and weakening of two others. They refuse to surrender since they are facing criminal charges,” Ligayo said in an interview Wednesday.
The official is confident in eradicating insurgents in three Samar provinces before the end of the year.
There are about 10 army battalions assigned in Samar province as the government heightened its fight against communist insurgents.
Only two NPA guerilla fronts in Samar Island remain in existence after the dismantling of one front and the weakening of another early this year.
But these fronts are already weakened with the surrender of mass supporters in communities.
Ligayo said the rebel’s Front Committee 2 that operated at the border of Samar and Northern Samar has been demolished after the capture and surrender of some of their combatants and recovery of firearms.
He said the NPA Front Committee 3, which operated near the borders of Northern and Eastern Samar, has been dismantled after a series of operations by government forces. (PNA)
