Rebel leader’s death seen to further weaken NPA’s Southern front – Army

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Southern Front of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay (KR-P) will further weaken following the death of its leader, Joven Ceralvo, the Philippine Army claimed.

The Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade earlier confirmed that Ceralvo, alias Lex, was one of the nine fatalities in the Dec 1, 2021 encounter at Sitio Burak, Barangay Alimodias, Miag-ao, Iloilo.

It was only on Dec 26, which happened to be the 53rd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), that Ceralvo’s “NPA comrades” confirmed his death.

“As we have been telling earlier, the death of alias Lex would further cripple the NPA in Southern Panay. It would help us in our campaign in being able to dismantle the Southern Front soon,” according to Brigadier General Marion Sison, 301st IB commander.

Ceralvo was the commander of Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay (KR-P’s Southern Front and a Regional Operations Command official of the NPA in Panay.

Sison said efforts, both military and non-combat, are aimed at toppling the NPA organization in the southern part of Panay.

Just like KR-P’s Southern Front, the 301st IB also considered Central Front as a weakened force.

Sison said they’re working out on focus military operations for the front’s dismantling.

In 2020, the NPA’s Eastern Front, which covered northern Iloilo and Capiz, has been declared dismantled.

The Northern Front has been deemed dismantled years back.

 

NO PUBLIC SYMPATHY

Captain Kim Apitong, 301st Infantry Division public information officer, also believed that Ceralvo’s death will gain no public sympathy.

In fact, it’s the other way around.

“In fact, the general public believed that Lex’s death will work for the government’s peace efforts,” he said.

Apitong said Ceralvo had been involved in criminal cases ranging from murder, frustrated murder, arson, and even sexual abuse.

In a reiteration of Sison’s statement, Apitong said that Ceralvo’s death would not strengthen the rebel movement but instead dampen the spirits of their members.

“He was highly regarded in the organization. Ang pagkawala niya ay malaking dagok sa Southern Front,” he said.

Apitong believed that NPA rebels who got wounded during the Dec 1 encounter confirmed Lex’s death to the CPP-NPA regional committee.

In a statement, the group said that “their martyrdom will continue to flare up our aspirations and determination to pursue the revolutionary armed struggle no matter the hardships and difficulties.

The regional committee added that modern weapons cannot defeat them.

As the CPP commemorated the 53rd anniversary of its establishment, it has also called on its members to “celebrate our achievements, even as we look forward to surmounting all obstacles in carrying forward the people’s democratic revolution to unprecedented heights.”

But the Philippine Army noted that there were pro-government actions that happened on Sunday all over Panay Island.