MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has redeployed its forces from Mindanao to the provinces of Samar and Panay, where the communist New People's Army (NPA) reportedly maintains a strong presence. AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Andres Centino on Wednesday said this was in line with the instruction of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to intensify focused military operations to crush the world's longest running Maoist insurgency. 'On the part of the AFP, one of the tasks given to us earlier during the meeting with the NTF-Elcac (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) is to intensify focused military operations,' Centino said during a Palace press briefing.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1767627/afp-redeploys-mindanao-based-troops-to-known-npa-hotbed-samar-panay

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