• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Police Regional Office-6 is set to dispatch 299 police officers in 17 selected barangays in Western Visayas, including Negros Occidental and highly-urbanized Bacolod City, to prevent the resurgence of New People’s Army presence.
PMaj. Gen. Bernard Banac, head of the Philippine National Police Directorate for Police Community Relations, and PBrig. Gen. Jack Wanky, police regional director of Western Visayas, led the send-off ceremony for the assigned police non-commissioned officers at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City on May 31.
Six barangays in Negros Occidental, of which four are in Bacolod City, will be among the areas to receive personnel for the Revitalized Pulis Sa Barangay (RPSB) program of the PNP.
The RPSB was implemented to sustain the gains of the Community Support Program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Retooled Community Support Program of the local government units.
It aims to prevent remnants of the NPA from recovering their lost territories and insulate unaffected areas from their infiltration.
PLt. Col. Arnel Solis, regional police spokesman, said the PNP will also assist the communities in addressing their peculiar concerns and facilitate the delivery of basic services.
The RPSB deployment came as the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division prepares for the eventual declaration of Negros Occidental in a stable internal peace and security status, following the dismantling of all five NPA guerilla fronts in Negros Island.
In a statement, Wanky urged the 299 PNP personnel to extend their best services to the community, where they are deployed.
The RPSB personnel underwent a 12-day stringent training before their deployment in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and in selected urban barangays. | GB
