Bacolod City – The Regional Task Force – ELCAC (Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict) 6 has endorsed the declaration of Negros Island Region (NIR) in a status of Stable Internal Peace and Security, as recommended by the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
“We will draft the resolution for the declaration and a letter for the President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr), inviting him to declare NIR as SIPS state,” said Energy Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, who represented Secretary Raul Lotilla, Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for RTF- ELCAC Western Visayas, during a recent meeting with AFP and PNP in the region held in Iloilo City.
NIR is composed of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Negros Island was already placed in SIPS status, following the dismantling of five NPA guerilla fronts, including neutralization of its key leaders, who were either killed or captured in gun battles or law enforcement operations, and its mass-based organizations, and clearing of all insurgency-affected barangays.
An area with a SIPS status means that it is considered cleared and unaffected by communist insurgents and relatively peaceful.
The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) also sought the support of RTF-ELCAC 6 to declare Panay Island as a SIPS zone. It supervises Army units stationed in Western and Central Visayas regions.
“The declaration of SIPS is expected to further bolster development initiatives, attract investments, and create a more conducive environment for peace and prosperity in this part of the country,” Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander and co-chair of the Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support cluster of the RF-ELCAC 6, said in a statement.
Eleven key leaders and members of the communist groups in Panay were neutralized in a series of encounters from July 1, 2024, to present, including KR-P regional secretary Vicente Hinojales, deputy secretary Maria Concepcion Araneta Bocala, and Central Front secretary Vivian Torato Teodosio.
The province of Antique is also gearing up for the SIPS status, with the Provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council to make the declaration next month, Sison said.
“This declaration is a testament to the collaborative efforts, hard work, and dedication of RTF-ELCAC 6, local government units, and stakeholders, signifying a significant milestone in our collective endeavors to achieve lasting peace and security,” he added. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star with reports from PNA)