AFP, PNP on alert as NPA
celebrates 39th anniversary

THE Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police are on alert for attacks that might be launched by the New People's Army, which is marking its 39th founding anniversary today, after the Communist Party of the Philippines ordered its military arm to do just that, seize the initiative and launch tactical offensives while troops are busy with guard duties and are more vulnerable.

The CPP central committee said it expects "more victories" in furthering its tasks in recruitment, building up guerilla bases and advancing its almost four-decade-old insurgency to a higher level.

"We look forward to the achievement of far greater victories in the revolutionary struggle in the forthcoming year. We wish to achieve these victories in order to celebrate the 39th anniversary of the NPA. We can reap great victories by continuing to seize the initiative and launching far more tactical offensives against the enemy than last year," it said.

"As the broad legal united front exerting all efforts to oust the Arroyo regime from power, the NPA must intensify its tactical offensives and carry out vigorously related revolutionary activities with the active participation and support of the masses," it said in a statement e-mailed to Malaya.

PNP chief Avelino Razon has already placed the 125,000-strong police force on full alert status nationwide effective at 6 p.m. Friday as a preemptive measure against possible NPA offensives. He directed Directorate for Operations' Chief Supt. Silverio Alarcio to map out plans to block the movements of NPA members.

"Historically, the NPA has been known to launch armed hostilities and tactical offensives against soft targets and other targets of opportunity as their way of commemorating their anniversary," Razon said.

Deputy Director General Jesus Verzosa, PNP deputy chief for administration, said ground troops have been ordered to continue monitoring the movements of the rebels. "We are always prepared for them (NPA) and we are monitoring their movements," Verzosa said. "We have also instructed our men in the field to be wary of assassination attempts and ambuscades by the rebels."

Soft targets where security has been tightened include airports, seaports, shopping malls, hotels, LRT, MRT, bus terminals and other places where a lot of people converge.

Police were also cautioned to be wary of NPA guerrillas using military or police uniforms due to past experience where PNP and AFP stations and patrol bases were raided by NPAs on ambulances or other marked vehicles.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said soldiers will also increase patrols to deter any rebel plan. He said it is military SOP to go on alert during the NPA's anniversary and no specific instructions need be issued for the occasion.

The CPP boasted that the NPA was able to launch last year more than 500 major and minor tactical offensives against the enemy, and increase the number of NPA units following the seizure of weapons.

"It has been able to maintain 120-130 guerrilla fronts and to expand and upgrade most of them. It is now in a position to increase the number of guerrilla fronts. These can be the building blocks of relatively stable base areas and even as the enemy causes some fluctuation in the number of guerrilla fronts due to concentrated onslaughts," it said.

The CPP said the NPA can still grow from the existing guerrilla fronts which cover 9,000 barangays in 70 provinces and 800 municipalities, increasing guerrilla fronts to 173 to cover all congressional districts in the provinces.

The CPP said the US-Arroyo regime is daydreaming when it says it can reduce the NPA to inconsequentiality before 2010. It said Oplan Bantay Laya 1 failed miserably to destroy a single guerrilla front from 2002 to 2007 while Oplan Bantay Laya 2 is bound to fail even more miserably.

"The CPP said talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) are dim with Arroyo still in power.

"The CPP, NPA and NDFP are prepared to resume formal talks in the GRP-NDFP negotiations after the downfall of the Arroyo regime or to end the peace negotiations if the next reactionary regime continues the policy of the Arroyo regime on the question of peace negotiations."

Malacañang decried the CPP's disinterest in resuming negotiations with government.

"The posturing of the CPP will jeopardize the resumption of the peace talks, stalling the same further. This puts intentions of the CPP to light.they are not interested in any peace agreement," Deputy Presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said.