NPA strength in Marinduque down to zero - AFP

The Philippine military on Thursday claimed that it has reduced the number of communist rebels in Marinduque province in western Philippines to zero. Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) chief Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali said the strength of the New People’s Army (NPA) has also been significantly downgraded in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Romblon. "Over the years, we have reduced them to zero. They no longer have activity for the past years, no reported incident," Detabali said of the NPA rebels in Marinduque. Because of this development, the AFP is now considering the insurgency problem in the province as a police matter. Detabali said they would formally turn over to the Philippine National Police (PNP) the responsibility of addressing the communist insurgency in Marinduque on Friday. He said they are also planning to turn over to the PNP the counter-insurgency operations in the provinces of Romblon, Laguna and Cavite. "We are planning (to turnover to PNP) Romblon because there is a similar situation, and then Laguna and Cavite. Romblon is zero already (of rebel presence) and they are already minimal (in strength) in Laguna and Cavite," he said. The military described the scheduled turnover as a "milestone" in the Southern Tagalog Region. "This activity (turnover) is a milestone of our internal security operations in (Southern Tagalog Region). Marinduque is already free from clutches of NPA. PNP and LGU (local government units) can now handle it by their own," said 2nd Infantry Division spokesman 1Lt. Celeste Frank Sayson. The development occurred while the government is preparing for the resumption of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF). President Gloria Macapagap Arroyo has ordered the military to crush the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), on or before her term ends in 2010. Detabali expressed confidence that Solcom would be able to clear its area of responsibility of communist rebels before the President’s deadline. "We still have problems in Bicol and Batangas but our target (to clear these areas) is 2010. We still have 10 to 11 months. That is our target," he said, adding that about 750 rebels are operating in the entire Solcom area. Latest military estimate placed the NPA strength at about 4,800 throughout the country. - GMANews.TV