The AFP in Eastern Visayas, through its commander, Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, is hell-bent in defeating the NPA in the region. It has deployed more troops, acquired and dropped more bombs, and launched bigger operations in a futile effort of achieving the pipedream of dismantling guerilla fronts in 2021 and end the NPA in Eastern Visayas before 2022.

The NPA-EV noted that more than 18 AFP-PNP combat battalions have been deployed in the region as of January. In addition to these are the 86 detachments and 226 newly-sent PNP-SAF commandos. The 8th ID have been conducting focused military operations and have committed numerous abuses in the towns of Pambujan, Las Navas, Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar, in Matuguinao, Calbiga, Pinabacdao in Western Samarand in Borongan City in Eastern Samar. Combat-intelligence-psywar operations continue under the guise of Retooled Community Support Program in all provinces, including areas which they tagged as “insurgency-free” such as Leyte, Southern Leyte and Biliran.

These ramped up military offensives against the revolutionary movement further exposed the futility of its counter-revolutionary war. The NPA has and will withstand all its attacks.

“Diñoso’s dirty war against the NPA will not only fail, it will push throngs of downtrodden, abused, hungry, impoverished, discontented, wronged and enraged masses to take up arms to defeat the AFP and overthrow the Duterte regime. The AFP is merely hastening its own defeat,” the NPA-EV declared.