Government forces killed seven suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) during an armed encounter in Uson town, Masbate on Sunday, in what the military described as a significant setback for the weakening communist insurgency.
According to Maj. Frank Roldan, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division, the clash stemmed from a pursuit operation that followed a separate encounter last week in the same province, where two NPA members were also killed.
Troops caught up with the fleeing rebels in a remote area of Uson and engaged them in a 30-minute gunfight. Seven assault rifles and two grenade launchers were recovered at the scene. Roldan added that at least eight rebels managed to escape and are currently being tracked.
“We’re in the final push,” Roldan told the Associated Press, adding that only a few dozen armed insurgents remain in Masbate, a largely agricultural province with over 900,000 residents. “This successful operation delivers a major blow to the already weakening insurgency,” he said, urging remaining members to lay down their arms and join the government’s peace efforts.
Military officials say the insurgency, which has dragged on for more than five decades, is nearing collapse. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, recently estimated that fewer than 900 NPA fighters remain across the country—down from a peak of about 25,000.
Brig. Gen. Medel Aguilar of the AFP’s Civil Relations Service echoed this assessment, saying the rebels are “on the brink of collapse” due to continued losses, internal divisions, and a steady stream of surrenders.
The communist rebellion, one of the longest-running in Asia, has claimed thousands of lives since it began in the late 1960s. Efforts to revive peace talks have repeatedly failed, with the most recent attempt collapsing during the Duterte administration.
