Troops alerted for NPA anniversary

A red-letter day.

Soldiers and policemen will be on alert this Wednesday, March 29, the 31st founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

A military official said the entire Armed Forces has been placed on double red alert as a precautionary measure against possible attacks by the New People's Army (NPA), which serves as the armed wing of the CPP.

"They (rebels) normally attack isolated and small detachments during their anniversary," the official said.

The same double red alert was recently imposed on the police force, the official added.

"The police had been warned of these possible terroristic attacks," he said.

Strict security will be observed in all military and police camps in the country as part of the precautionary measure.

Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, revealed that the CPP is planning to hold a gathering in an undisclosed place in Southern Luzon this Wednesday.

The gathering, he said, could be related to the CPP's request for the suspension of military operations in Quezon, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Rizal provinces. He noted that CPP leaders have promised to release two police and Army captives if military operations are halted.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes, however, has reportedly rejected the request, saying the captives - police Chief Inspector Abelardo Martin and Army Maj. Noel Buan - would soon be rescued by military troops.

Martin was abducted by the rebels during a raid of a police station in Dolores, Quezon last November while Buan was kidnapped last July while pursuing peace talks in Mt. Banahaw, also in Quezon.

Military intelligence reported last week that NPA ranks had swelled 18.5 percent to 10,600 fighters this year. Early this month, NPA guerrillas killed 10 soldiers and militiamen in an attack on a military truck in central Bohol province.

The group has called off its peace negotiations with the government last May.