Fresh gunbattle between government troops and communist-
terrorist rebels broke out early Friday morning leaving one
member of the New People’s Army (NPA) dead, and certain
sectors have blamed alleged provincial government’s
negligence as the cause of rebel resurgence in Bohol.
No one was reported killed or injured in the Philippine Army
side in the five-minute exchange of gunfire in the boundary
between the towns of Antequera and San Isidro, Bohol.
According to reports by the San Isidro Police Station, at around
6:20 a.m. on May 12, 2023 troops belonging to the 47th Infantry
Battalion led by 2Lt Ronel Sarip, together with intel and combat
forces from the Bohol Provincial Police Office and Regional
Mobile PNP, with back-ups from San Isidro and Antequera
Police Stations, encountered at least five members of NPA
rebels operating in the interior parts of the First District of the
province.
Killed in the latest fight was a certain Arthur Inot Lucenario, a
resident of Escario Extension, Cebu City. The dead body was
identified based on the recovered driver’s license.
Sources from the military told The Bohol Tribune that last
Friday’s operation was planned and calculated after residents in
the area had reported of the prolonged presence of NPA
rebels.
In the past weeks, there were sightings of armed elements near
the location of the encounter in Antequera and San Isidro,
according to a military source who spoke to The Bohol Tribune
on condition of anonymity.
“Capitol Reports claim they’re giving out services to the
Barangays. That means their actions have not hit the
objectives,” the source said.
“Is the Capitol doing Abante Barangay activities for the people
to address their social and economic needs or they’re in the
Barangays for their political agenda”? the source said during
the interview. The source noted that everyone knows the
schedule of the barangay elections is just a few months away.
“If the ELCAC has no unit in the Capitol, that explains why
reports are not discussed by the different agencies of
government,” the source said.
“The reason for this is, the Governor is always absent in the
Capitol and away from Bohol because of his travels abroad that
have not benefited the Boholanos,” according to the military
source.
“Recently, the Governor was in Dubai. What did he bring home
from there?” the source lamented.
Previously Gov. Aumentado was in Israel and Malaysia and
South Korea. But his attempt to travel to China the other week
was stopped by the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), in a memo, due to alleged waste of public
funds.
“In the meantime, Bohol suffers from brownout almost
everyday. This May 13 Saturday, it’s black out for the whole
day. Price of fish is still high. Price of rice is also high and never
hit 20/kilo as promised during election. Due to negligence in
governance, Bohol is again under the radar of NPAs,” the
source narrated.
NTF-ELCAC
Capitol insiders have expressed dismay over what they
describe as lack of anti-insurgency programs in the current
provincial administration.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed
Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force created by President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte through Executive Order 70 (EO 70) in
December 2018.
Its goal is to synchronize the government’s instrumentalities of
power with the capabilities of private sector stakeholders to end
50 years of deceit, lies and atrocities committed by communist
terrorists against the Filipino people.
The NTF-ELCAC is composed of 12 operational clusters, each
compromised of relevant government agencies committed to
serving within its operating principle.
NTF-ELCAC was used to be active during the administrations
of former governors Edgar M. Chatto and Art C. Yap.
SECOND IN A YEAR
Friday’s gunfight is the second this year, two months after
government troops had also engaged with NPA rebels in Bohol.
The military recovered various equipment belonging to the now
ragtag NPA group after a firefight with communist rebels in
Hanopol Norte, Balilihan town on March 9.
Major Maremias Batillier, Civil Military Operations Officer of
Task Group Bohol, said that among the items seized were a
rifle grenade, hand grenade, fully loaded AK47 magazine,
ammunition for M16 and AK 47 rifles and improvised tent.
Also, last Friday’s gunbattle was the third since Gov. Aris
Aumentado was elected in the 2022 elections.
Bohol was used to be known in the country as an insurgency-
free province at least for more than a decade since it was
declared as such in 2007.
On December 28, 2022 government troops clashed with NPA
rebels in a 10-minute gunfight also in San Isidro town, Bohol.
No casualties were reported in that year-end battle.
Soldiers clashed with at least 10 “remnants” of NPA’s Bohol
Party Committee, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and
Siquijor, according to a report from the 47th “Katapatan”
Infantry Battalion (IB).
JASPER
Meanwhile, the Bohol PNP command has released a new
identity of the slain rebel.
Col. Lorenzo Alfeche Batuan, chief of the Bohol provincial
police, identified the slain rebel as a certain “Jasper.”
He was with four of his comrades when the gunfight ensued.
The four others managed to escape.
“The Bohol Party Committee has long been dismantled by the
government. But there were reported sightings of their
remnants in the area. That alias Jasper was identified by his
former comrades who have already surrendered and availed of
the assistance from the government,” Batuan told the Philippine
News Agency (PNA) in a phone interview.
He said the town police have joined the soldiers in pursuing the
four other rebels while the Scene of the Crime Operation in the
province rushed to the area to gather evidence.
Authorities have recovered a caliber .45 pistol with a magazine,
and several live ammunition, the Visayas Command (Viscom)
said in a statement.
Lt. Col. Israel Galorio, Viscom’s spokesperson, said the real
name of “Jasper” is yet to be known.
RETURN TO BOHOL
According to sources from the Philippine Army, NPA rebels
have set up camps in at least 15 towns in Bohol, namely
Balilihan, Catigbian, Batuan, Bilar, Sevilla, San Isidro,
Antequera, Inabanga, Trinidad, Danao, Ubay, San Miguel,
Candijay, Mabini, and Valencia. These towns were previously
cleared of NPA influence by government forces.
NPA rebels have long been wanting to return to Bohol because
it is a huge source of money for them. Allegedly, they extort
from businesses and residents and use violence and
intimidation to gain support, the report added.
Bohol was declared insurgency-free in 2007 by then President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after years of counter-insurgency
operations by the military and police.
The status as insurgency-free was maintained during the
administrations of former Governors Edgar Chatto and Atty. Art
Yap.
ISOLATED INCIDENT
Meanwhile, Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado downplayed last
Friday’s clash as an isolated incident, saying those rebels
“could have been coming from Calape enjoying fiesta and were
about to return in Antequera after the festivity there (in
Calape).”
In an interview with Bohol media on Friday, Aumentado said
the public and the Boholanos outside the province should not
be alarmed as “everything is under control.”
He also called on tourists to Bohol not to be discouraged from
visiting the province despite the reported gunfight since rebels
in the province are dwindling in numbers.
Aumentado reported that about eight families were evacuated
after last Friday’s skirmishes, but these families have safely
returned to their respective homes as of yesterday.
The governor, as of Friday, said he is yet to get more details
about what happened in Antequera and San Isidro, assuring
the public that more information will be revealed in the coming
days.