11 NPA camps seized in E. Samar in a month - Army

Government forces on Saturday seized a camp belonging to the communist New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents in Eastern Samar — the 11th rebel lair seized by the military within a month in the region. Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said the occupants had left even before the soldiers reached the rebel camp at the vicinity of Cagmanaba in Jipapad town with the assistance of a civilian guide. Ortiz said the camp can accommodate about 175 people and has about 50 wooden beds, four dining tables, four kitchens, one session table and a comfort room. Recovered from the camp were medical items, optical accessories, dental accessories, school supplies, two big round pots, five liters of cooking oil, four liters of vinegar, a laminated sack, a PVC pipe for water pump, and a 75-meter generator wire. Lt. Col. Noel Vestuir, spokesman of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the camp was the 11th NPA lair to be captured by troops under the 8th Infantry Division in one month as a result of their “intensified campaign against these lawless armed groups." One of the camps seized was the headquarters of the National Organizational Department of the NPA Central Committee at San Juan de Buan town in Western Samar, which fell into the military hands about two weeks ago. Maj. Gen. Mario Chan, commander of the 8th ID, admitted that the seizure of the camps were made possible by the cooperation of the civilians. “The government troops have driven them out of their lair and stronghold, thereby preventing them to impose their influence through their extortion activities among the peace-loving communities in the area," Chan said. - KBK, GMANews.TV