At least four soldiers of the 203rd IBde were casualties in the active defense of the New People’s Army (NPA)-Mindoro (Lucio de Guzman Command) units in the strike operations conducted by the military in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro and Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro on February 11. The Red Army units safely withdrew from the battle area.

In Sityo Kalinisan, Barangay Bayutbut, San Jose, the Red fighters defended against the 68th IB attacking force. The unit reported that the Red fighters were conducting an investigation on the situation of the indigenous people and farmers in the town of San Jose. “The NPA promptly learned about the approaching enemy so it effectively carried out active defense that resulted into the deaths two of the attacking troops,” NPA-Mindoro spokesperson Ka Madaay Gasic said.

With the help and support of the masses, the unit maneuvered safely. Less than an hour after this, the NPA-Mindoro unit also actively defended against the 4th IB’s deceptive operation and raid in Sityo Tignuan, Barangay Teresita, Mansalay. The NPA seized the initiative in the battle inflicting two casualties on the attacking enemy.

The fascist soldiers pretended to be Red fighters to deceive a resident of Sityo Tignuan and then forced him to guide them in their operation.

“The NPA Mindoro strongly condemns the AFP soldiers for deceiving the civilians and forcing them to guide in their operation,” Ka Madaay stated. He said this is an outright endangerment of civilian lives which is against international humanitarian law. He added that the AFP regularly impersonates Red fighters before civilians as a tactic. The AFP even formed a special unit for this dubbed the Special Warfare Group or SWAG.

In light of this, Ka Madaay reminded the Mindoreño masses to be cautious against this anti-people tactic of the AFP. “The simultaneous battles prove the high morale and fighting capacity of the NPA-Mindoro. This is despite the all-out counter-revolutionary war of the US-Marcos II regime on the island,” Ka Madaay determinedly stated.

Ka Madaay added, this is a big slap in the face of the 203rd IBde and Marcos himself who have repeatedly declared that only “a few demoralized and disorganized fighters” remain among the NPA-Mindoro.