NPA camps in Davao dismantled

Police and Army forces, after weeks of sustained anti-insurgency operations were able to dismantle mountain bases of the New People’s Army located in the outskirts of Davao City.

However, the success of this anti-insurgency operation came without a price.

A member of the 4th Special Action Force on commando schooling, is now bedridden in the Davao City Medical Center after being critically wounded while fighting the insurgents about two weeks ago in a forested area of Sitio Otan, Barangay Tamayong, Calinan District.

The fighting that dragged for almost two-hours also resulted to the capture of a rebel stronghold in the area, Chief Superintendent Andres Caro II, Southern Mindanao Regional Police commander said.

Philippine National Police chief, Director General Jesus Verzosa, visited the wounded SAF trooper, PO1 Aris Dipiao, now nursing gunshot wounds with his doctors still waiting for his recovery before submitting him to another surgery to remove bullets still embedded inside his body.

Dipiao, who among the battalions of SAF troopers on commando schooling ordered dispatched to Mindanao by Department of Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno two months ago.

In the presence of his parents who came all the way to Davao City from their home province in Ifugao, Dipiao was declared graduate from his commando course at his hospital bed by Verzosa.

The Calinan SAF-NPA encounter likewise resulted to the wounding of Ka Bobby, NPA commander in Davao City and the recovery of the insurgents’ three high-powered firearms said SAF director Chief Superintendent Leo Santiago.

The gunbattle took place in the mountain boundary of Davao City and North Cotabato where the insurgents were earlier reported to be massing up as part of their tactical alliance with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Aside from the NPA Calinan base, Caro said that the police along with the Army troops overran and captured four more rebel camps in Compostela Valley.

These captured NPA camps believed to be the headquarters of the Pulang Bagani Command 3, were all located in the surroundings of Barangay Araibo, Pantukan, Compostela Valley early this week.

Caro said one of the four camps can accommodate more or less 500 persons at any given time.

“The communist terrorists abandoned these camps to evade being pinned down by our troops,” Caro said adding that the troops only met brief rebel resistance.

He added that despite these successes, the police, in close coordination with the military would continue to conduct anti-insurgency operations to crash the insurgents operating in Southern Mindanao, especially those in the Davao area.

“We hit them hard and we scored big against the insurgents. They are here in Davao City after the capture of their base,” Caro said.        

Relatedly, the NPA rebels retaliated yesterday morning as they ambushed Army men on supply run in nearby Davao Del Norte.

In the first volley of gunfire, two Army soldiers who were among the troops aboard a military vehicle passing by Sitio Angelo, Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod town were killed.

Maj. Armand Rico, Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) spokesman, said the rebel attackers are regular NPA fighters of the Guerilla Front-35 of the Southern Mindanao Regional Party Community.