MANILA, Philippines – The military has downplayed the communist New People’s Army’s (NPA) recent attacks on government security forces in the provinces, stressing that the armed communist movement is in a downturn.

NPA rebels’ attacks in Agusan del Sur, Northern Samar, Negros Occidental, and other areas of the country are isolated cases, according to Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman.  

“Kung titignan natin sa nangyayari, masasabi natin na yung cases… are confined in other areas na lang (If we look at what’s happening, we can say that the cases are confined to some areas),” he said on Tuesday. 

He added that AFP has turned the tide in provinces like Quezon province and the Bicol region where the NPA had a strong foothold. 

Burgos said the NPA’s attacks are acts of vengeance for the losses it incurred against government forces. 

On Saturday, NPA rebels posing as cops kidnapped and killed an Army detachment commander in Toboso, Negros Occidental. 

The communist guerrillas seized 23 high-powered firearms from the military outpost before fleeing.

Burgos said the AFP has launched an investigation to shed light on the incident.

He said the NPA could not have overran the outpost if regular AFP troops manned it. “It is a CAFGU detachment, not regular military detachment,” he said. 

“We strongly condemn the treacherous act, (which we see as) cold blooded murder,” Burgos said.  

He said the rebels killed the outpost commander, Staff Sgt. Efraim Bagonoc, because he refused to comply to their demands. “It is unfortunate na overrun ung detachment (It is unfortunate that the detachment was overrun),” he added.

“May investigation pinadala na brigade-level inquiry. We will check ang nangyari. Ang importante ‘di nagpapabaya mga sundalo, (A brigade-level investigation has started. What is important is that government troops were not lax in their duties),” Burgos said. “It will come out in the investigation kung nagkaroon ng security lapses. (It will come out in the investigation if there were security lapses).”

Human rights handbook

The AFP, meanwhile, has started “field-testing” a human rights handbook, he said. 

The field tests, which will take a month, are being undertaken on platoon, battalion, and brigade levels. 

Burgos said soldiers’ feedbacks will be noted. “We first issued a set of questionnaires on their knowledge on protection of human rights. The second (set of questionnaires) is the book itself, (to see) if they are applying it or not,” he added.

“Field units, especially those in the frontlines such as officers at noncommissioned officers, do not know what to do when confronted with the issue on human rights,” the AFP spokesman said. “The problem is they don’t know proper documentation that needs to be made, what needs to be done after armed encounters, and which appropriate agencies to be consulted.”

He said the AFP will come up with the final version of its human rights handbook in October after holding a series of meetings with officials from the Commission on Human Rights, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Amnesty International, and the academe.