NPA - TRENDS IN RECENT ATTACKS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PHUM PINS PREL RP
SUBJECT: NPA - TRENDS IN RECENT ATTACKS

Ref: A. Manila 3346

- B. Manila 2973
- C. Manila 2777


1. (U) Summary: The Communist Party of the Philippines-Military
Commission (CPP-MC) has directed the New People's Army (NPA) to
concentrate on new offensives against the "key loyalist and fascist
officials of the Arroyo regime." The number of NPA attacks
nationwide appears to have increased since April 2006, primarily
consisting of encounters and ambushes upon troops of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP),but also including assassinations
of some local government officials. The NPA continues to utilize
landmine attacks targeting AFP troops, but on occasion also wounding
civilians. The National Democratic Front (NDF) has apologized for
injuries to these civilian victims, and offered to pay for their
hospitalization costs. NDF officials, nonetheless, insisted that
the NPA will continue to use landmines, as its "legitimate right."
The NPA also continues to attack telecommunication stations and
police stations. End Summary.

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NPA on the offensive
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2. (U) In August 2006, a new directive by the Communist Party of
the Philippines-Military Commission (CPP-MC) entitled "Major points
in the tit for tat struggle against the US-directed war of terror"
appeared on the CPP/NPA website, instructing NPA units to prepare
for additional tactical offensives in both rural and urban areas on
"the most bloodthirsty loyalists of the Arroyo regime among the
corrupt bureaucrats and military and police officers" as well as on
"key loyalist and fascist officials of the Arroyo regime." It
specified use of sniping techniques, attack-and-retreat units, RPGs,
mortars, and landmines in order to "inflict casualties, hamper enemy
movement and demoralize the enemy forces."


3. (U) Since April 2006, incidents involving the NPA do appear to
have increased. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales told
the media on August 9 that military estimates indicated at least
1,130 "liquidations" from 2000 to May 2006, including 843 civilians.
He cited the Bicol region as the most dangerous, but killings and
ambushes have taken place in virtually all provinces nationwide. He
also claimed that the NPA had separately killed 384 soldiers,
policemen, and intelligence agents in ambushes or assassinations.
On August 8, an estimated 20 NPA troops even wounded five AFP
soldiers from the 901st Infantry Brigade in Albay province while the
troops were packing relief supplies for evacuees from the Mayon
Volcano area. Elsewhere on August 8, the AFP killed two NPA
soldiers (while losing one AFP soldier),while separately killing
three NPA soldiers allegedly extorting money from miners.


4. (U) Typically, NPA units consist of no more than 15-30 soldiers,
but on some occasions can be as large as 50-60. The NPA sometimes
relies on "special armed partisan units" to carry out "special
tactical operations," according to Gonzales. When AFP units
encounter NPA troops, there are often long but inconclusive
firefights, frequently with few or even no casualties. Some
observers attribute this to the poor marksmanship training of the
AFP, a shortfall the AFP is now addressing through the Battalions of
Excellence program of the Philippine Defense Reform initiative.

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Toll on non-combatants
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5. (U) The NPA increasingly seems to resort to the use of landmines
against AFP vehicles and convoys; sometimes these result in
apparently unintended civilian fatalities and/or casualties. On
July 24, NPA troops detonated two landmines along the national
highway in Unidos Village in Surigao del Sur Province, seriously
wounding five jeepney passengers and 10 pedestrians. NDF officials
claimed that the NPA had mistakenly identified the jeepney as a
military vehicle, and offered to pay for the hospital expenses of
the wounded. According to NDF spokesperson Jorge Madlos, while the
injuries to civilians were unfortunate, the NPA "will not give up
using landmines," the use of which is the NPA's "legitimate right."
Madlos admitted that this specific attack was an operational
"mistake" and claimed that this NPA bomb unit will undergo
retraining.


6. (U) Separately, an estimated 100 NPA troops in Agusan del Sur
took hostage about 50 civilians as a State of the Nation Address
(SONA) "gift" to President Arroyo. Officials of the Philippine
National Police (PNP) speculated that this abduction was an attempt
to lure PNP and AFP troops into an ambush, and so did not attempt to
rescue them. Three hours later, the NPA released all the hostages
unharmed.

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MANILA 00003356 002 OF 002


Other raids
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7. (U) Also on July 24, eight suspected NPA elements burned down a
Globe telecommunications Tower in Camarines Sur Province. According
to police officials, the NPA ransacked and destroyed equipment prior
to setting the control tower on fire and retreating to the Tangco
Vaca mountain. Since January, at least 10 Globe towers have been
attacked in different parts of the country. Many observers have
noted that the NPA targets Globe because it refuses to pay
protection money or "revolutionary taxes," unlike some of its
competitors.


8. (U) The NPA also continues to attack and steal weapons from
local police stations, small AFP detachments, paramilitary units,
and private security companies. On July 21, approximately 30 NPA
troops attacked a police substation in Isabela Province, stealing
two M-16 and two M-14 rifles, and an unspecified number of radio
communication sets.
JONES