Army exec says NPA remains a threat

LUCENA CITY—While saying that communist guerrillas are dwindling in numbers, high ranking military officials in Southern Luzon said the guerrillas are still a force to reckon with.

“The NPAs (New People’s Army) remain to be the most potent threat to peace and security (in the region) but their numbers continue to drop,” said Maj. Gen. Ricardo Visaya, chief of the Southern Luzon Command (Solcom), in a statement released by the command public information office.

Visayas made the statement following a series of guerrilla attacks that had killed four soldiers and a policeman.

Maj. Angelo Guzman, Solcom spokesperson, said Visaya made the assessment in his report to Armed Forces Chief Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. who visited the command headquarters at Camp Nakar here.

Visaya and other Solcom officials had told Catapang that Solcom is “on the right track” in its counterinsurgency drive, said Guzman.

Visaya ordered soldiers to step up offensives against guerrillas. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon