CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay, Rizal: The Philippine Army has deployed an additional infantry battalion after its members completed the mandatory organizational training on Friday. The 59th Infantry Battalion (59IB) “will augment military forces in 2nd Infantry Division’s priority area to decimate the few remaining NPAs (New People’s Army members) and deliver the finishing blows against insurgency in that part of Southern Tagalog,” Maj. Gen. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said. He said the deployment of the additional soldiers was the Army’s response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to end local communist armed conflict before the end of his term in 2022. He urged NPA members to surrender or else they would be hunted down. Lt. Col. Edward Canlas, commanding officer of 59IB, said his unit was now combat ready and focused to locate, engage and deliver the coup de grace against the NPA. Some 466 former rebels have already surrendered in Southern Tagalog and are now enrolled or undergoing enrollment process in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-Clip which provide grants to those will turn their backs against the terrorist movement.
