• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As the Philippine Army shifts its focus on territorial defense from internal security, the 3rd Infantry Division (ID) assured Negrenses that it will continue to stay, secure and protect Negros Island and Siquijor.
Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander, on Friday (July 12) recalled that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros was defeated during the stint of then Col. Victor Ibrado as commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade (IB), where the island was declared as insurgency-free.
“We thought it was already finished,” Sison said, but the CPP-NPA was able to recover as they waited for the pullout of government troops in Negros.
“But this time, as we learned our lesson, we will not leave Negros Island Region. The Philippine Army will stay and we will sustain whatever gains we have,” he added.
The provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Occidental are now in a status of stable internal peace security (SIPS) as declared by their respective Provincial Peace and Order Councils upon the recommendation of the Philippine Army.
“But let us not rest on our laurels. As long as there are remnants of the CPP-NPA, let us not relax, and let us sustain our gains. We will finish them. We will eradicate them for Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental to really have that peace, progress and development,” Sison told the troops during the 38th founding anniversary program of the 303IB at Camp Gerona in Murcia town.
Placing Negros Island in a SIPS status came after the Philippine Army declared to have dismantled all the five CPP-NPA guerrilla fronts in Negros Island along with its Regional Striking Force, mass-based organizations, and political structures on its influenced barangays.
Sison said that there is only one guerrilla front in Panay Island up for dismantling by the 301st Infantry Brigade under the command of Brig. Gen. Michael Samson.
The 303IB, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, was described as among the Philippine Army’s “fightingest” units in the country since last year.
“We will not be able to accomplish these achievements, without the support of various stakeholders and the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which is the most potent solution, or tool being used, for us to end the menace of the local communist armed conflict,” Sison said.
He thanked the Negros local chief executives, especially Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, for his all-out support to the peace and development endeavors of the 303IB.
In the same activity, Sison led the pinning of ranks to new members of the Army Reserve Command, including Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II, Central Philippines State University president Aladino Moraca and vice president for academic affairs Fernando Abello.
Plaques of recognition were also given to representatives of various organizations for the support they extended to 303IB infantry units during the ceremony also witnessed by former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado. | GB
