Development will kill NPA, says military
The military can also easily hit the rebels in the mountains without much collateral damage among civilian communities because the troops are intensifying their training skills, the official said.
“This is evident in the East Mindanao Command area where we had several encounters and recovered batches of firearms. This is the AFP’s strategy, especially in that focused area. We are isolating the NPA from the communities, particularly the lumad,” Kakilala said.
But the official did not say how many years it would take for the NPA’s total downfall.
Kakilala said it was possible that the NPA would go to the negotiating table as “an alternative strategy to be relevant.”
“That’s one of our objectives, to have peace talks with the CPP, NPA and National Democratic Front so they will abandon the armed struggle, so we’ll achieve our objectives and goals,” he said.
He expressed optimism the next administration will pursue this with the communist group.
Article continues after this advertisement“But if they won’t talk peace, they will really be irrelevant because development will come in complemented by our efforts. There are no longer any issues being raised by the people and they are running out of cadres,” Kakilala added.
