NPA-Bukidnon fires at oppressive CAA detachment amid focused operations
Red fighters of the New People’s Army based in Bukidnon fired shots at a CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) detachment located at Barangay Bulonay, Impasug-ong amid relentless focused combat operations of the AFP. The harassment operation lasted more than 10 minutes in the evening of May 5.
According to NPA-Bukidnon, the CAA detachment and AFP elements have been causing grave hardships on the peasant Lumad masses in Bolunay. Local residents have complained against the AFP and paramilitary troops for arbitrarily imposing a food blockade which limits the amount of supplies which they can purchase making life even more difficult especially under the Covid-19 lockdown.
Since the detachment was erected in July 2018, cases of human rights abuses perpetrated by military and paramilitary forces in the community increased. Among others, community residents are being forced to join the CAFGU in order for their names to be “cleared” from the military’s list of NPA “supporters.”
“The CAFGU detachment also serves as a center for promoting gambling, drinking, and other anti-social activities causing disruption and threats to civilians,” the NPA unit added. It identified Sgt. Dario Nanulan, a cadreman of the 8th IB who currently heads and leads the CAA detachment, as behind these activities.
The NPA operation aims to amplify the demand of the residents for the AFP to dismantle the abusive CAFGU detachment and encourage the paramilitary forces to leave the AFP and earn their living from working the land, as the rest of the community.
The NPA operation was carried out amid the focused operations being conducted by the 8th IB in Bukidnon. Since the first week of April, about 315 soldiers have been carrying out operations in the barangays of Malaybalay City and Impasug-ong.