VZCZCXRO6342
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #3356/01 2220203
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100203Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2433
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
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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. 
 
-------------------- 
NPA on the offensive 
-------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
---------------------- 
Toll on non-combatants 
---------------------- 
 
¶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