NPA violated own ceasefire in Eastern Mindanao – military

May 15, 2018

The New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Mindanao has violated its own ceasefire, a military official said on Tuesday.

“Election in Eastern Mindanao was generally peaceful despite the NPA terrorists' violation of its self-declared ceasefire,” Major Ezra Balagtey, AFP Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman, said.

Despite the NPA's self-declared ceasefire, he said its members harassed a patrol base of Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) in Brgy. Sinacungan in the town of Esperanza at about 4am last Monday which caused the delay of the start of the voting process within the village.

He noted that after the firefight that lasted for about two hours, the government troops were able to restore the normalcy and give way for the start of the election process in the area.

“The troops immediately restored normalcy and allowed the start of elections in the area a little bit late than the supposed time of opening,” said Balagtey.

The NPA in North Eastern Mindanao Region reportedly declared a five-day suspension of their tactical offensives from May 14 to 18 so that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections could be held.

During the clearing operation, Balagtey said the government troops also recovered high powered firearms, which include one M16 rifle and one M203 grenade launcher from the enemies. Robina Asido/DMS