• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Armed Forces of the Philippines Visayas Command (Viscom) said the fight against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the Visayas region continues to be relentles as the implementation of the whole-of-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict through Executive Order (EO) 70 is about to reach its fifth year.
“Our fight against the CPP-NPA will go on. We will continue to be relentless and we will never hold back,” Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Viscom chief, said as they sustain significant gains to further push the local terrorist group to the verge of imminent defeat.
Since January this year, a total of 149 armed encounters transpired throughout the Visayas, which led to the neutralization of 589 rebels, of which 479 surrendered, 82 died during encounters, and 28 were apprehended during joint law enforcement efforts with the Philippine National Police.
On the same period, a total of 409 assorted firearms were also seized.
Viscom reports further indicated that of the former rebels who surrendered, 431 have already been enrolled in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program, where they received initial grants from the local government units.
Under the Community Support Program, a total of 261 barangays in the Visayas have been cleared from NPA influence, where 113 NPA-affiliated mass organizations denounced their support to the CPP-NPA and pledged their allegiance to the government.
These clearing efforts also paved the way for the implementation of some 1,010 community development projects under the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Of these projects, 562 have already been completed while the implementation of 448 other projects are ongoing.
The Viscom also reported that hundreds of complaints have been filed against several NPA personalities as well as NPA-affiliated organizations. | GB
