• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Wednesday (Sept. 11) that he will seek the guidance of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on relinquishing his position as chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) of Western Visayas.
Negros Occidental is now under the newly-created Negros Island Region (NIR).
“With NIR, I can’t be RPOC chairman of Region 6,” said Lacson, who presided the RPOC-6 third quarter meeting at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City on Wednesday.
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who chairs the Regional Development Council-6, is also expected to step down from the council leadership soon.
Lacson said that during the meeting, the Philippine Army recommended that Panay Island be placed under the status of stable internal peace and security (SIPS), following the neutralization of key rebel leaders in Panay and the dismantling of rebel guerrilla fronts.
The Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict-6 earlier endorsed the declaration of NIR in a SIPS status as recommended by the 3rd Infantry Division.
Negros Island was placed in SIPS status, following the dismantling of five New People’s Army guerrilla fronts, including the neutralization of its key leaders, who were either killed or captured in gun battles or law enforcement operations, and its mass-based organizations, and the 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. | GB
