A new battalion of the Philippine Army was positioned in Rizal as the military aims to deliver the final blow against insurgents in Southern Luzon.
Major Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the 59th Infantry (Protection) Battalion will augment the forces in the division’s priority areas to decimate the few remaining New People’s Army rebels in the region.
The 59th IB was activated two weeks ago and placed under the command of the 2nd Infantry Division. Its members – about 100 soldiers – successfully completed the mandatory organizational training last Friday.
“The deployment of hundreds of additional soldiers in the frontlines is our proactive response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to end local communist armed conflict before the end of his term,” Burgos said.
In December 2019, Duterte reiterated his resolve to end the communist rebels and terrorists as he ordered the military to crush the threat groups.
Burgos called on the communist rebels to give up their armed struggle “because these additional forces, with its full military might, will hunt you down until you run out of space to hide.”
Lt. Col. Edward Canlas, who was assigned to lead the new battalion, said the unit “is now combat-ready.”
“The soldiers are focused to locate, engage, and deliver the coup de grace against the NPA remnants who are now on the verge of irreversible collapse,” Canlas said.
Prior to its activation as a combat unit, the 59th IB was the administrator of the 2nd ID’s auxiliary forces for 16 years.
Meanwhile, 190 candidate soldiers took their oath during a recent ceremony, said Capt. Jarald Ternio, chief of the 2nd ID Public Affairs Office.
They will undergo six months of rigid military training prior to their deployment to the frontline units as soldiers with the rank of Private. (Martin A. Sadongdong)
