UNMANNED aerial drones flying over the skies of Misamis Oriental have provided vital information to military commanders hunting the New Peoples rebels in the mountains.
In highlighting the role of drones, Lt. Colonel Christian Uy, commander of the 58th Infantry Battalion said information from the “eye of the sky” has allowed them to know the whereabouts of the rebels.
“Even if the rebels are hiding in the deep mountain gullies, the drones can spot them. The technology has improved that much,” Uy said.
The Philippine Air Forces operate light plane-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) acquired from Israel at Lumbia military airbase in Cagayan de Oro City.
On May 28, 2022, a Hermes 900 unmanned drone crashed near a popular resort in Baungon town in Bukidnon province.
Uy said information from the UAV helped the military to launch military operations against the NPA rebels operating in Misamis Oriental.
He said the military operations have crippled the strength of the NPA rebels from four platoons to one.
“At some point, the rebels numbered around 100 armed fighters. Now they are downed to 20 to 25 fighters and we are hunting them wherever they are,” Uy said.
The military presented on Tuesday eight NPA fighters who surrendered because of the relentless military operations to the Misamis Oriental Provincial Peace and Order Council.
“We were always on the run. We subsisted on root crops because our food supply line from the villages was disrupted,” Jorinelle Remadavia, alias ‘Rambo,’ an NPA political officer and one of the eight rebels who surrendered said.
Remadavia said they slept in the mountain gullies by slinging their hammocks on trees to avoid military patrols.
“We lost the political will and I decided to surrender and go back to my family,” he said.
Remadavia said the rebels lost the support of its mass base as one of the major reasons why the NPA is losing the insurgency war against the military.
The rebels surrendered six firearms that include four M16 rifles, two AK 47 rifles, and a grenade launcher.
