Troops pursue NPA in northern Luzon

The government continued pursuing members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) who fled after soldiers overran last week a rebel camp housing around 75 armed men in Zambales, central Luzon.

The area is believed to be the staging point of the militants for their disruptive activities aimed for the July 15 polls, a belated report said.

The military tasked two groups of soldiers to pursue the rebels that split into two groups, heading towards western Pangasinan in northern Luzon, and Bataan, in central Luzon, said Lt Col Domingo Tutaan Jr, regional commanding officer.

Lt Col Tutaan said they will not rest and will not give the fleeing communist guerrillas time to re-group in order to carry out their plan to disrupt the forthcoming village elections on July 15.

Brigadier General Alberto Braganza, commanding general of Nueva Ecija, has launched Oplan Elections 2002 among the army units to check on reported plans of the communist rebels to influence the outcome of the local elections.

Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, chief of the Northern Luzon Command, said they have discovered the plan of the communists to field their candidates in the elections to gain a bigger foothold in local politics with a far reaching plan for the national elections in 2004.

"The presence of their armed group will definitely have a coercive influence on the result of the polls," observed Maj. Gen. Garcia.

Troops overran an NPA camp in Salaza village, Palauig town, Zambales, after a brief firefight with about 20 to 30 guerrillas last week. The seized camp consisted of about 19 makeshift huts made of bamboo and three big makeshift halls used as a conference area, mess and schoolhouse.