AFP on track to end insurgency by mid-2019, says Lorenzana

The Department of National Defense (DND) believes that the military is on track to exterminate Philippine communist insurgency — the longest in Asia — by middle of 2019, as President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier predicted.

DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in his keynote speech at the agency’s 79th founding anniversary on Wednesday that their recent “victories” are leading to the end of communist insurgency by second quarter of 2019.

“With the influx of NPA (New People’s Army) surrenderers responding to the President’s sincere call for peace, the inter-agency Task Force Balik-Loob was created last April 2018 to centralize the government’s reintegration efforts for former rebels and oversee the enhanced comprehensive local integration program or e-clip,” Lorenzana noted.

He then mentioned that as of September 2018, there were 3,443 rebel returnees based on records of the AFP Peace and Development Office. 

Lorenzana said another indication of winning against insurgents was the 1,162 communist rebels who were either arrested or killed by military, or have surrendered to authorities. Of them, he added, 907 individuals voluntarily surrendered.

He also cited the confiscation of 1,238 firearms, 560 of which were high-powered weapons, from the rebels.

Moreover, the military has reported the clearance of 210 barangays from NPA influence and dismantling of three guerrilla fronts, he added. 

Peace talks between communist rebels and the government were supposed to resume last June but the latter called it off to conduct consultations with stakeholders.

The military has also been pushing for localized peace talks, but the Communist Party of the Philippines turned it down.  /kga