Police arrested a 29-year-old alias “Rafael” in Barangay Caradio-an, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, for illegal possession of firearms after seizing an alleged homemade 12-gauge shotgun with two bullets. The police also accuse him of being a “unit commander” under the command of the New People’s Army (NPA)-South Central Negros (Romeo Nanta Command).

Spokesperson Ka Dionesio Magbuelas condemned state forces and denied its baseless accusation against Rafael. He stated that residents of the area can attest that the victim is an ordinary farmer and that the gun seized was clearly planted in his house when he was arrested.

The spokesperson added that state forces had previously forced Rafael to “surrender” and listed him in their reintegration program. His arrest is possibly because he is no longer useful for them to provide significant information or intelligence about the revolutionary movement in Himamaylan City and neighboring towns, Ka Dionesio explained.

“This only proves the uselessness of the E-CLIP (Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program) of the National Task Force-Elcac,” Ka Dionesio said. He added that the corrupt program is only used to force civilians to surrender and serve as agents of the military, who can be discarded by the executioners at any time.

In light of this, Ka Dionesio warns all Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) agents that they could easily end up the same way as Rafael. He said this is the military’s desperate tactic to present the facade of their continuing success against the revolutionary movement. The Marcos regime has targeted anew to end the revolutionary movement by the end of 2024.