At least 14 soldiers and police of the US-Duterte regime were killed and 10 others were wounded in successive tactical offensives mounted by the New People’s Army (NPA) from June 8-16.

In Neg­ros Occi­den­tal, 12 elements of the 15th IB were killed in an ambush by the NPA-Southwest Neg­ros (Arman­do Su­ma­yang Jr. Com­mand) in Ba­ra­ngay Ping­got, Ilog last last July 8.

The 15th IB is notorious for conducting brutal SEMPO operations in Sout­hern Neg­ros. Its soldiers are involved in the spate of killings, harassment and forced surrender of civilians in the area.

Meanwhile, the NPA-South Central Negros disarmed a family of bandits at Sitio Binadlan, Ba­ra­ngay Bi-ao, Binalbagan on July 14. An M16 rifle, shotgun, .45 and .38 calibre pistols, ammunition and handheld radios were seized from the the bandits. The bandits are involved in land grabbing, human rights violations and anti-social activities in the area since 1990.

The NPA-Palawan also mounted successive ambushes in Tay­tay, Pa­la­wan on July 12 and 13. Red fighters fired at a mobile of the Phi­lip­pi­ne Na­tio­nal Po­lice (PNP) along the highway at Sit­io Ibang­ley, Ba­ra­ngay Abo­ngan on July 12. The PNP chief of Dumaranan town and another police were aboard the said vehicle.

On the next day, the people’s army ambushed soldiers of the MBLT 3 who were deployed in the same area to respond to the ambush. A soldier was killed while three others were wounded.

In Sor­so­gon, the military and police sustained four casualties in a series of harassment operations mounted by the NPA in two days. The casualties were part of military units deployed to conduct “Com­mu­nity Sup­port Prog­ram” in five towns of the province.

On July 14, at around 6 p.m., Red fighters fired at operating soldiers of the 91st CMO Company in Ba­ra­ngay Cal­pi, Bu­lan. A soldier was killed while another was wounded. In the same evening, the NPA also harassed soldiers operating in the adjacent barangay of Cal­ma­yon in Ju­ban.

On July 16, two elements of the PNP 9th Special Acti­on Bat­ta­li­on were wounded in an NPA harassment operation in Ba­ra­ngay Tu­la-tu­la Sur, Ma­gal­la­nes.

Earlier, during the first week of July, the PNP-Masbate paralyzed the plunderous operations of Ma­ti­bay Ce­ment Factory in Ba­ra­ngay Ca­sa­ba­ngan, Pio V. Cor­puz. Red fighters destroyed its mining equipment.

The said cement-manufacturing company will endanger the lives and livelihoods of residents in 11 ba­ra­ngays in the towns of Pio V. Cor­puz and Espe­ranza. Hundreds of hectares of farmlands and residential areas are set to be covered by its lime mining operations in the area. A coal-fired power plant is also set to be constructed in and pollute the area to enable the company to be fully operational.