Army says NPA fighters in Northern Mindanao ‘down to 16’

Soldiers from the Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion wade through a rocky river while conducting pursuit operations somewhere in the hinterlands of Misamis Oriental in this undated photo. Photo courtesy of 4ID DPAO-PA

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The New People’s Army’s (NPA) North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) has been reduced to just 16 armed guerrillas, the military said, signaling what could be the government’s final push to end the communist insurgency in the region.

In an interview on Thursday afternoon, Lieutenant Col. Joe Patrick Martinez, the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) spokesman, said their troops are conducting pursuit operations on the remaining insurgents, including regional secretary Julia “Ka Reda” Cagadas.

He said that Cagadas carries a P5.3-million reward for her capture.

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