NPA in S. Luzon faces modern weapons in renewed all-out war––Solcom

LUCENA CITY –– The communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Southern Luzon would now face state security forces armed with modern war weapons, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

The government forces in Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions “will not hesitate to use the upgraded military might in our arsenal against the few CT (communist terrorists) who still refuse to abandon their arms,” said a statement from Lt. Col. Dennis Cana, information officer of the Army’s Southern Luzon Command (Solcom).

He made the statement in reaction to President Duterte’s renewed order for government forces to launch an all-out war against the Maoist-inspired NPA rebels across the country.

Cana clarified that the Solcom acquired new modern war equipment “like night capable helicopters, signal equipment like drones, range finders, thermal imagers, and additional naval assets.”

“But the main assets in our counter-insurgency operations are the text messages and calls from concerned citizens whenever there are strangers in their places,” Cana said in a phone interview.

But the primary weapon of government forces in their all-out war against the communist guerrillas, Cana emphasized, was the cooperation between the military, concerned government agencies, local governments, and nongovernment organizations./lzb