NPA bombs recovered in Southern Philippines

Army officials said troops have recovered dozens of landmines and various materials used in the manufacture of improvised explosives in the southern Philippines.
Officials linked the explosives to the communist rebel group New People’s Army in Loreto town in Agusan del Sur province. The cache of landmines was discovered by civilians in the village of Mansanitas, according to Capt. Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command.
Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, the Eastern Mindanao Command chief, praised the bravery of the civilians who informed the military about the explosives.
“We thank our people for their cooperation. Our soldiers are always ready to respond anywhere and whenever needed. If the NPA is sincere about peace, they must stop manufacturing landmines as these kill people and destroy properties,” Cruz said.
He said the discovery came a day after two NPA rebels - Robert Daging and Abet Guinson – surrendered to the 36th Infantry Battalion in Carmen town in the province of Surigao del Sur.
The duo also handed over two automatic rifles. The NPA has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. 

Article Source: Mindanao Examiner

9 gov't troopers wounded in Agusan del Sur firefight

Nine government troopers were wounded during a clash with New People's Army (NPA) fighters in Barangay Balit, San Luis town, Agusan del Sur before dawn Thursday.

Capt. Christian Uy, Philippine Army's 4th Infantry Division spokesperson, said the incident took place at around 1:50 a.m.

He added that troopers from the 26th Infantry Battalion and the PNP's Agusan del Sur Public Safety Company were on their way home after serving an arrest warrant for Nelson Lugpatan Campos, a resident of Sitio Kipuyag, Barangay San Pedro, when they were fired upon by seven NPA fighters.
The exchange of gunfire lasted for 45 minutes and resulted in the wounding of seven soldiers, one PNP operative and a militiaman.

There were no immediate reports on rebel casualties as the NPAs quickly fled.


Pursuit operations are now ongoing. 

Article Source: PNA

Communist rebels raid mine, seize 3 men

MANILA -- Communist rebels have raided a gold mining company in the southern Philippines and demanded weapons in exchange for releasing three hostages.

Armed Forces spokesperson Major Eugene Osias said about 30 New People's Army (NPA) rebels stormed into the VTO Mining company office in Rosario tow, Agusan del Sur early Thursday and seized the owner's son and two employees.

Guerrillas have in the past raided mining firms, destroying equipment, and seized weapons as punishment for the companies' reported environmental destruction and failure to meet the rebels' extortion demands or pay "revolutionary taxes." However, they rarely demand ransom for hostages.

Peace talks to end more than four decades of the rural-based insurgency have stalled and recent efforts to revive them have failed.

The rebels are fighting for a Marxist state.

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SunStar.Com.Ph | July 5, 2012 | Article Link

150 flee fighting between NPA, troops in Agusan del Sur

MANILA, Philippines -- Forty families, or more than 150 individuals, most of them children, have fled their homes in a remote village of Trento town, Agusan del Sur to escape heavy fighting between communist guerrillas and government troops that broke out Monday.

The fighting began when soldiers from the 25th Infantry Battalion spotted New People’s Army fighters in Barangay New Visayas.

The soldiers had been meeting the villagers as part of the government’s counterinsurgency program, Oplan Bayanihan.

The displaced families sought shelter in the nearby village of Pulang Lupa.

Others remained at the multi-purpose hall of New Visayas.

The evacuees said military air strikes were launched at the height of the fighting.

Ricardo Caduplana, an evacuee, counted at least eight bomb explosions.

“The fighting lasted from eight in the morning until noontime. The military sent in choppers and attack planes in the afternoon and dropped around eight bombs,” he said.

Caduplana and the other residents said they would not have left their village if they did not fear for the safety of their children.

“The children were very scared. They could not stop crying,” he said.

But the military said the residents needed to leave the village to allow the soldiers to pursue the rebels.

Ailyn Quilaton fled the village with her two young children, who were sleeping at the floor of the evacuation center.

“We have not brought anything. We fled after hearing the first burst of gunfire,” she said.

“Unta magsinabtanay na lang (I hope the two parties will stop the war),” she said.

“We have not received reports of civilian casualties or damaged properties. But we have IDPs (internally displaced persons), which is something unavoidable in times of clashes because civilians really get scared. Right now, we are taking care of them,” said Lieutenant Colonel Danilo Benavides of the 75th Infantry Battalion.

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Jefry M. Tupas | TV5 Davao/InterAksyon.Com | May 9, 2012 | Article Link