18 Reds killed in first 3 weeks of January

FILE: The 18 include two ranking NPA leaders killed during a warrant operation in Tarlac early this week, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Emmanuel Garcia said Friday. (PNA photo)

MANILA — Focused military operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) have neutralized 18 communist rebels during the first three weeks of January.

The 18 include two ranking NPA leaders killed during a warrant operation in Tarlac early this week, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Emmanuel Garcia said Friday.

Garcia attributed the military’s success to the close coordination between the security sector and the local communities who informed the soldiers about the presence of NPA rebels, especially those conducting extortion.

During a Joint Command Conference in Compostela Valley province last week, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the AFP to crush the NPA so that peace and economic progress would prevail, especially in the countryside.

Garcia said the AFP had been winning the fight against the communist rebels since the termination of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front last year. A total of 163 NPAs had been killed in various operations nationwide, while 188 rebels had surrendered to government forces in the first three weeks of January. (PNA)