Bacolod City – After the Provincial Peace and Order Council headed by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson recently adopted the recommendation of the Joint Peace and Order Coordinating Committee (JPSCC), composed of the Philippine Army, National Police and Coast Guard, to declare Negros Occidental in a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security, both provinces the island, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, are gearing up for the Stable Internal Peace and Security status.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Oriental earlier concurred the recommendation of its JPSCC to declare that the province will be placed under SIPS status, Maj. Mervin Rosal, 303rd Infantry Brigade Civil Military Operations chief disclosed recently.
Under the SIPS status, the province is categorized as cleared, unaffected, and is relatively peaceful, and the LGU and PNP acknowledge and accept that only Law Enforcement Operations (LEOs) are needed, with the Philippine Army playing a supporting role.
In a briefing during the PPOC meeting at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City, the Philippine Army reported the dismantling of five rebel guerilla fronts, including its political and military structures, clearing of all insurgency affected barangays and sitios, and reduction of its armed combatants from 295 in 2019 to 42 last year, while their firearms reduced to 68, from 318.
Rosal also reported the dismantling of the Regional Strike Force (RSF) of the Komiteng Rehiyonal Negros/Cebu/Bohol/ Siquijor, which is now suffering from a leadership vacuum, with its combatants down to 7.
Col. Victor Llapitan, 303rd Infantry Brigade deputy commander, yesterday clarified that declaring Negros under SIPS status does not mean that the island is now insurgency-free.
Llapitan said that the 42 remaining NPA rebels in five dismantled guerilla fronts are now the subjects of their continued focused military operations. At the same time, Llapitan also enlisted the help of Negrenses in reporting the presence of rebel remnants in their respective communities, as he cited the timely information of residents in Brgy. Pinapugasan in Escalante City, which led to a series of gunbattles that claimed the lives of three more rebel remnants, and the recovery of 20 firearms.
Mayor Melecio Yap aired his apprehensions on the continued killings perpetrated by rebel remnants in the hinterlands of Escalante City and its neighboring barangays of Toboso.
Admitting that rebel remnants have still the capability to conduct terroristic activities, Llapitan said the Philippine Army is doing its utmost best to prevent them from doing so, as he assured local officials that they will not leave Negros Island.
“We have learned our mistakes in the past”, he stressed.
Yap urged the Philippine Army to finish the NPA remnants.
After the adoption of SIPS status for Negros Occidental, Rosal said that it will need the concurrence of the Sangguniang Panlalawiga, which will be forwarded to the respective Regional Peace and Order Councils of Western Visayas and Central for approval.
Gov. Lacson said that because of the SIPS status, investors will feel more confident in investing in Negros Occidental. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)