Responding to the clamor of people to make police and military forces pay for their brutalities and crimes the past months, units of the New People’s Army in Surigao del Norte mounted three consecutive armed offensives last January 28.

The first of the three tactical offensives by the NPA-Surigao del Norte was an attack at the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Sison Municipal Station located at Barangay San Pablo, Sison. They fired shots at the policemen in the station for about 20 minutes.

After two hours, another unit of the NPA sniped at reinforcing troops of the Regional Public Safety Battalion and 29th IB passing by Barangay Tinogpahan of the same town. In the afternoon, another unit detonated an explosive, hitting a PNP patrol car serving as a blocking force in Barangay San Pablo.

According to initial reports collated by NPA-Surigao del Norte, several armed troopers were wounded.

“These offensives serve as punishment to PNP-Sison, units of the 29th IB and 901st IBde for their crimes against Surigaonons,” said Ka Leo de Guerra, spokesperson of the NPA provincial command.

Red fighters targeted the fascists responsible for the murder of peasants and civilians in the province. The latest case in the string of crimes perpetrated by Duterte’s armed agents is the murder of 54-year old peasant Silvester “Cecel” Nunez last January 20.

Police officers of the PNP-Surigao del Norte raided the house of Nunez in Barangay Trinidad, Surigao City at 1 o’clock in the morning, serving a warrant of arrest. Nunez was killed in the PNP’s Tokhang modus.

Six cases of murder and various human rights violations of these fascist units were recorded by the NPA. In addition to the Nunez case, the killings include the murder last September 2020 of Rolando “Tatay Bodoy” Patinio Leyson Sr., 78 years old, father of a known NPA commander in the province.

“Not one has been made to pay for these crimes,” ended de Guerra.