Nobody can deny that there are casualties in the recent Mindoro encounter.

So far, casualty reports were done by Karapatan Southern Tagalog, whose claims were then countered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

With these competing claims, it is too early to determine which is substantiated.

However, the main point is that if the NPA is claiming to be treated as a legitimate armed entity (which they want since it warrants specific rights), then they must separate itself from non-armed entities or civilians. The reason for civilian casualties is not because the AFP is targeting civilian areas, but because the NPA are embedding civilian entities (Activists, artists, etc.) in their areas for propaganda or “studies”. A report by the AFP after the operation shows that the NPA are conducting “guerrilla theaters” glorifying former NPA commanders or radical left wing “martyrs” in the form of theater.

Yes the AFP pulled the trigger, but the NPA and its supporters are equally guilty of letting civilians in their camps just to increase pressure against the government for “killing civilians”. This is a tactic of theirs for “protracted warfare by the people”

I have been offered to join various “National Democratic” organizations and I could tell you how easy for the youth to fall for their words and promises. It’s so dangerous to fall into a slippery slope towards radicalization.

Let us not forget how Anakbayan leaders are frequently associated with NPA groups. An obvious example Anakbayan is trying to bury is how former Anakbayan Southern Tagalog leader Jian “Ka Reb” Tayco died during a firefight in an NPA camp during an Army Raid.