THE top military commander in the Visayas said a leadership vacuum in the communist movement led to the death of seven New People’s Army (NPA) rebels during a military operation in Northern Samar last Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the AFP Visayas Command, also urged the remaining rebels in the Visayas to surrender.
Army soldiers, backed by Air Force aircraft and artillery assets, assaulted an NPA hideout in Barangay Santander, Bobon town in Northern Samar last Sunday.
The 30-minute fighting resulted in the death of seven of the 40 rebels in the NPA hideout and also led to the seizure of four rifles, an anti-personnel mine, and rebel documents.
“This latest debacle of the CPP-NPA is a clear manifestation that the leadership vacuum that the terrorist group is suffering has taken its toll on their armed component on the ground,” said Arevalo.
“Clearly, their members are disoriented with no operational direction leading to their demise,” said Arevalo.
The communist movement has lost several key leaders over the past several months, including communist party leader Jose Maria Sison, who died last December in the Netherlands where he has been in exile since the 1980s.
In August last year, CPP chairman Benito Tiamzon; his wife, CPP secretary-general Wilma Austria and eight companions died after a clash with soldiers off Calbayog City in Samar.
The military initially said it believed the couple was among the fatalities. Last April 20, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) confirmed the death of Tiamzons and their companions.
The CPP, however, claimed the Tiamzons and their companions were apprehended, tortured and later killed by the military before they were put on a boat, along with explosives, which the military reported detonated off Calbayog City. The military dismissed the CPP allegation as mere propaganda.
Arevalo commended troops from the 8th Infantry Division for the successful operation in Northern Samar last Sunday, specifically for their “unwavering commitment to peace and democracy.”
