In a visit to the headquarters of the 11th Infantry Battalion (IB) in November last year, Central Command (CentCom) chief Lt. Gen. Roberto Ancan announced the “dismantling” of New People’s Army (NPA) – Negros Southeast guerrilla front.

This aggrandizement of fictional military feat against the NPA is repeated again this year by the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and Negros’ reactionary armed forces officials. But this time with the inclusion of Northern Negros Front to the list of “dismantled” guerrilla fronts.

Obviously, they needed some big time accomplishment to brandish in order to justify the gargantuan “counter-insurgency” operation funds they are amassing that has become the milking cow of its avaricious top senior officials.

They desperately needed to project a “winning” image congruent with CentCom’s “winning the peace” concept.

But action speaks louder than words. While in their press releases they refer to the NPA’s Southeast Negros Front as a remnant spent force reduced to insignificance, the intensifying and sustained large-scale focused military operations in the hinterlands of Sta. Catalina, Sibulan, Siaton and other adjacent areas contradict the AFP’s own claim.

Why waste big amounts of resources and large troops if indeed the threat is miniscule?

It can be gleaned from the series of focused combat and retooled community support operations that AFP-CentCom is threatened by the gains and advances of the NPA in said areas. Amid immense difficulties posed by the enemy, the NPA have made great strides not only in frustrating enemy offensives but in advancing its integrated tasks in advancing the people’s war. ###