A New People’s Army (NPA)-Mindoro (Lucio de Guzman Command) ambush killed two brutal Philippine National Police (PNP) elements while travelling in Barangay Bagong Silang, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro on the afternoon of July 13. According to the people’s army, this serves as a major blow to the police and military, who have repeatedly claimed that the island has already achieved “insurgency-free” status.

“This is the NPA-Mindoro’s response to the Mindoreños outcry for holding the AFP-PNP accountable for its terrorist campaign in the towns of Central Oriental Mindoro,” NPA-Mindoro spokesperson Ka Madaay Gasic said.

The military and police presence in Victoria provides security for large, destructive, and anti-people projects. These include seven quarrying sites in Victoria that the local government has allowed. The entry of a large mining operation in Victoria also looms, following the revival of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) of the Mindoro Nickel Project.

These projects will destroy thousands of hectares of land that farmers and indigenous Mangyan people rely on for their livelihood. The police and military commonly position themselves even before these destructive projects begin to prevent the people from defending their land and natural resources.

In addition to military terrorism in Victoria, in recent months the military and police have further intensified their campaign of repression against the Mindoreños following their defeats from the people’s army in Socorro in November 2024 and in Pola in February. Ka Madaay said “the AFP-PNP turns its anger on civilians through relentless operations that terrorize communities.”

The peasant masses suffered hardship, abuse of authority, and abuse of power from the military and police. These are implemented by prohibiting going to farms and fishing grounds, ransacking their homes, intimidation, threats, and other violations of human rights.

“Militarization and de facto martial law across the island protects large businesses in entering and operating, which the people oppose because they destroy the environment and the lives and livelihoods of the Mindoreños,” Ka Madaay said.

Consequently, Ka Madaay said that all Mindoreños celebrate the justice delivered by the NPA’s offensive in Bagong Silang. “The Mindoreño people continue to support the NPA because they know that the Red army is their most reliable partner in fighting all forms of exploitation and oppression,” he said.

Ka Madaay challenged all units of NPA-Mindoro and all Red commanders and fighters to carry out similar military actions against the enemies of the people. “Guided by the Party and the rectification movement, we must seriously reject military conservatism and launch more and more tactical offensives based on the capacity of the people’s army units,” he called.