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Friday, September 05, 2003
Troops overrun NPA camp, seize firearms
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
CLAVERIA -- Military troops overran a New People's Army (NPA) camp in this Misamis Oriental town Thursday, wounding in the process three communist rebels and seizing five firearms, sophisticated communication devices and subversive materials.
The communist insurgent camp in Sitio Dugo-dugo in Claveria was being used to spy on military communications in Mindanao, an Army commander said.
An undetermined number of communist rebels escaped in the gun battle for the camp although bloodstains indicated the rebels suffered casualties in the fight, said local battalion commander Colonel Rainer Cruz.
A team from the 9th Infantry Battalion's Bravo Company led by 2Lt. Chris Anthony Morales sneaked into the NPA base at 5:45 a.m. Thursday and clashed with some 15 communist guerillas
The military earlier said that 15 rebels had been captured in the clash but later clarified that only the camp had been captured.
The NPA is the armed wing while the National Democratic Front (NDF) is the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has waged a 33-year Maoist campaign to topple the government.
Communist rebels abandoned their camp after the 15-minute firefight, leaving behind two M16 Armalite rifles, caliber 30 Garand rifle, homemade caliber 30 Garand rifle, caliber 38 revolver, ICOM Base IC 2000, Motorola GP 68, medical kit bag and voluminous subversive documents, said the military.
3 rebels injured
Morales later told reporters he believed at least three rebels were injured in the clash. "We found some bloodstains in camp," he said.
NDF Mindanao spokesman Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, could not be reached for comment as of Thursday afternoon but his aide said nobody was wounded in the group.
"Wala man gyud samaran basin sa ilaha kadto," he told Sun.Star. (Nobody was wounded in our group; perhaps, the bloodstains were from military members.)
He added the military should show evidence of the supposed bloodstains before making any public claims.
Claveria Mayor Rocky Calingin said he understood the ideology espoused by the NPA but that this should be reached through peaceful means.
A military official said the NPA group encountered by soldiers in Claveria was under the command of McCoy Midsayap whose main base is somewhere in the mountainous area of Balatucan, Balingoan, Misamis Oriental.
Sophisticated equipment
Col. Melchor Dilodilo, commanding officer of the 403rd Infantry Brigade, said he was surprised by the recovery of an ICOM IC 2000 from a communist group's base.
"It is the first time that we discovered an ICOM Base IC 2000, such a sophisticated communication equipment, in an NPA camp. This means the camp has signal intelligence capacity," he told reporters Thursday.
He believes the equipment is capable of tracking down radio communication frequencies and picking up conversations.
Cruz, for his part, said they are currently intensifying patrol activities in the area.
He said he would make sure that the number of communist rebels in his area of responsibility would be "reduced".
"There is no timetable but we will make sure that their numbers are reduced," he said.
The government has recently said it was preparing to resume talks with the NDF in Norway.
The talks were suspended two years ago when the NPA killed two legislators. Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/(With AFP)
(September 5, 2003 issue)
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