Philippine military acknowledges it will not meet June 30 deadline to crush communist rebels

Philippines fails to meet deadline to crush rebels

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military acknowledged Sunday that it could not meet a deadline this month to eradicate a decades-old communist rebellion but said offensives have whittled the strength of the insurgents to a historic low.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had ordered troops to crush the Maoist rebellion — one of Asia’s longest — by the end of her term on June 30, but the military said about 4,000 New People’s Army guerrillas remain in five key regions nationwide.

There were about 25,000 guerrillas at their peak in the mid-1980s under dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ rule, but their ranks have since dwindled due to battle setbacks, surrenders and factionalism.

The 120,000-strong military is crafting a new plan to rout the rebels under incoming President Benigno Aquino III, military spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos said.

“They couldn’t be totally eradicated because our troops were needed in other places,” Burgos told The Associated Press. “But we have deprived them of many of their strongholds, and their numbers are at a historic low.”

The underfunded military, one of Asia’s weakest, has also been battling Muslim guerrillas and al-Qaida-linked militants in the country’s south. Troops were also deployed to secure the May 10 presidential and local elections.

In their latest attack, about 30 communist rebels abducted an army soldier and a government militiaman Saturday in southern Compostela Valley province, army Capt. Emmanuel Garcia said.

Several civilians were also held by the guerrillas but later freed in the gold-mining mountain region, about 580 miles (930 kilometers) southeast of Manila, Garcia said.

He said rebel practices such as extorting money from farmers reflect the guerrillas’ weakness and their lack of local support, he said.

Regional rebel spokesman Greg Banares said military claims that the rebels were at the verge of defeat were “crude propaganda.”

Peace talks between the rebels and the government brokered by Norway collapsed in 2004 after the rebels accused Arroyo’s administration of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and European terrorist blacklists.