The Communist Party of the Philippines praised the New People’s Army in Sultan Kudarat province, in southern Mindanao Island, for defending the indigenous Lumad and Moro communities in Palimbang town against landgrabbers and armed attacks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. From 15 – 20 June, units of the NPA mounted three successful armed offensives against the 28th Infantry Battalion of the AFP in the villages of Balwan and Molon.

Marco Valbuena, CPP Chief Information Officer, said, “The people’s army is determined to defend the masses of peasants and minority peoples against the aggression of mining and logging operations in Sultan Kudarat, which are being ushered in and defended by units of the AFP.”

He added, “The latest series of armed actions mounted by the NPA in Sultan Kudarat speaks volumes against the US-Duterte regime’s target of ‘defeating’— later downgraded to ‘weakening’ – the people’s army.”

AFP units act as private armed guards of the D.M. Consunji Inc, a company that is engaged in large-scale logging in the areas of the Lumad and peasant communities. The NPA unit in Sultan Kudarat also launched several actions to stop the logging operations of the DMCI in May 2022.

Meanwhile, the NPA Sultan Kudarat reported that the AFP dropped bombs and shelled the area several times where the NPA attacked. AFP helicopters also strafed the vicinity.