ARMED Forces chief Gen. Bartolome Bacarro yesterday ordered military commanders to intensify operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) to finally end the communist rebel group.
Bacarro made the order during a command conference at the AFP general headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, said acting AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar.
Bacarro assumed the top military post on Monday and will serve as AFP chief for three years. In his inaugural speech, Bacarro vowed that the military under his leadership will be unyielding in the campaign to end the 53-year-old insurgency problem.
Past military chiefs have set deadlines to end the NPA but failed to meet their target. Military estimates placed the current NPA strength at more than 2,000 men.
Aguilar said Bacarro did not set a deadline as to when the military should defeat the NPA. But the new military chief wants the problem solved as soon as possible, added Aguilar.
“We have no timeline but the urgency of completing the task is there. That is why his instruction is to increase the operational tempo so that we can defeat the armed group. If possible, we should finish it as soon as possible, that’s the objective,” said Aguilar.
Aguilar said Bacarro’s order will not require the deployment of more troops to communist-infested areas, adding military units will have to rely on personnel they currently have.
“We just have to maximize the available forces to increase the operational tempo… We have to increase operational tempo so that we can establish peace the soonest time possible,” said Aguilar.
Aguilar, asked if the insurgency problem can be ended within the three-year term of Bacarro, said, “I think we can if we can only sustain the momentum (of our operations).”
Aguilar said the help of government agencies and other stakeholders is also important in ending the multifaceted insurgency problem.
