The military has arrested six members of the New People’s Army Tuesday (June 26) in San Luis, Agusan del Sur.
They were believed to be part of the series of attacks on mining firms in the area.
Regional military spokesman, Major Eugene Osias, said the rebels were apprehended at a checkpoint in the village of Binikalan in the town of San Luis.
In Surigao del Norte, suspected NPA rebels burned three trailer trucks containing copra products amounting to PhP5 million.
The attack happened at 11:10 p.m. when the trucks were flagged and burned by eight armed individuals, who reportedly identified themselves as part of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 16A, along the national highway in Barangay Pungtod according to Maj. Eugenio Osias IV, spokesman of the Army’s 4th division.
Lt. Col. Vincent Iringan, Commander of the Army’s 30th battalion, said the perpetrators fired successive shots to the air before fleeing the scene. Irigan said his troops are guarding the possible escape routes of the rebels.
The NPA has been waging a Guerilla campaign on the countryside for more than four decades. The Philippine military estimates that there are around 4,700 NPA members scattered all over the country.
Conflicts between the AFP and the NPA continue to occur particularly in rural areas. This past month, a number of NPA camps have been seized by the AFP.
Such camps were said to be used for training members in the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Despite conflicts, the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) has resumed peace talks with the government.
