News In Brief

Philippine rebel operations taking stiff toll, Marcos says

Nearly 5,000 servicemen and civilians have been killed in counterinsurgency operations in the Philippines in the past three years, President Ferdinand Marcos said Wednesday in an address during ceremonies marking the 83rd anniversay of the paramilitary Philippine Constabulary.

The New People's Army, the military wing of the banned Communist Party, has been increasingly active, especially in Luzon Island, in the north, and on Negros and Samar Islands in the central Visayas region. It has a firm grip on parts of Mindanao Island in the south, which has also been a battleground for the Muslim secessionist Moro National Liberation Front.