The Roselyn Jean Pelle Command (RJPC) of the New People’s Army in Northern Negros dismisses as pure fiction and fake news the reported arrest on Saturday of one of its “squad leader” in Cadiz City.

Combined elements of PNP and AFP units apprehended Eliseo Along, 38, in Hacienda Tresing, Barangay Andres Bonifacio on March 9. He was presented to news media as an NPA squad leader who took part in the February 21 Escalante City encounter.

As per RJPC-NPA records and roster of personnel, Along is not an active member of any NPA unit in Northern Negros, much more a squad leader. He was once a member of the NPA, but went AWOL almost two years ago unable to remould his outlook and mend his anti-social ways involving gambling, drinking and womanizing. He later on surrendered to the AFP and received tasks as one of their intelligence assets.

The AFP’s #DiMasaligan79IB must be desperate enough to use as prop such shady character just to sustain the projection of a winning image.

Such high level of desperation is unsurprising given its utter failure to crush a small guerrilla unit even with overwhelmingly preponderant force supported by air assets squandering millions in the process that should have been allocated to drought affected Negrosanons.

Meanwhile, RJPC-NPA scoffs at the so-called arms cache unearthed in Barangay Washington, Escalante City recently as a poorly and precipitously prepared display of rusty homemade firearms and some munitions that are obviously recycled, fabricated or planted. It is another drama from #DiMasaligan79IB’s fake news scripts.

NPA units in Northern Negros do not maintain an arms cache. All its firearms are in the hands of its Red fighters and local militia forces. In fact, it is short of firearms in relation to the increasing numbers of peasants and youth enlisting in the people’s army.