The Philippines has begun offering cash rewards to soldiers to help defeat communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the final two years of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration, officials said on Tuesday. Lieutenant-General Alexander Yano, newly installed as head of the 120,000-member armed forces, ordered accelerated offensives against the Maoist-led rebels in two dozen areas during a meeting with senior generals. “We are on track with our targets and we'll just sustain the momentum and step up our operations in the priority areas,” Yano told reporters at the army's main base in Manila. Arroyo has vowed to crush the near 40-year-old insurgency by the time her term ends in June 2010. A senior army general told Reuters soldiers would be given fat cash rewards for dismantling rebel bases, capturing top communist guerrilla leaders and hitting their targets ahead of scheduled deadlines. For instance, about 300,000 pesos ($7,000) would be awarded to a military unit that dismantled a guerrilla base within a given target period. Money would also be given to every rifle or weapon taken from a captured or slain rebel. “It has been announced that the president will reward our soldiers for every success in defeating the communist rebels,” said Lieutenant-General Pedro Ike Inserto, the central Philippines military commander. It is the first time that Philippine troops are being given cash rewards for combat operations. Bounties for capture of rebel leaders have usually been given to civilian informers. Active in 69 of 81 provinces across the country and fuelled by staggering inequalities between rich and poor, the NPA is viewed by the government as its most serious security threat. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people and stunted growth in one of the most resource-rich states in Southeast Asia. Analysts said the move to offer soldiers rewards could backfire, warning of a possible increase in human rights abuses. “In a bounty system, the only rule is to work to get it by any means,” Earl Parreno, a political analyst of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, told Reuters.
