THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is working hard to dismantle the 11 weakened New People’s Army (NPA) guerilla fronts until the end of the year, including vertical units and party organs within the organization’s sub-regional committees and regional party committees, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on Thursday.
Responding to reporters during a Palace press briefing, Año said the anti-communist roadmap will be carried out until 2028, stressing the role of the AFP even during the transition from internal to external defense posture.
“So kahit na nagta-transition iyong ating Armed Forces from internal to external, marami pa ring role ang Armed Forces dito. Particularly, ang ating goal is to dismantle the 11 weakened guerilla fronts up to the end of the year and this will also include dismantling 26 vertical units and party organs within the 27 sub-regional committees and 40 regional party committees,” Año said.
“So the PNP and the Armed Forces will work closer because some areas na cleared na will have to be handled by the Philippine National Police as the Armed Forces transition into the external defense mode,” he said.
For his part, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military has set deadlines for its ground units to dismantle the remaining weakened NPA guerilla fronts, vertical units, regional party committees, and sub-regional committees.
The targets set by the AFP have resulted in increased number of armed encounters between the security forces and the insurgents, as well as with terrorist organizations active in the country.
“Halos everyday ay nagkakaroon po tayo ng mga armed encounters – not just between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the members of the New People’s Army but also with the local terrorist groups,” Brawner said.
“So, we launched and expansive and intensive military operations against all of these threat groups,” he added.
And once the AFP successfully ends the communist insurgency, it can consolidate all its forces to solely external defense, Brawner said.
