AFP chief to remaining rebels: Abandon armed struggle

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 15): AFP chief to remaining rebels: Abandon armed struggle

With the province of Pampanga now declared insurgent-free, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista on Wednesday urged the remaining New People's Army (NPA) groups to give up their armed struggle and return to mainstream society to live fruitful and peaceful lives.

"We showed here in Pampanga one of our victories against the 45 years of insurgency in the country. We have had the insurgency problem for so long, and so many died and suffered, and many families were broken because of that. Now it is time to end the culture of violence. It is time for us to unite and abandon the armed struggle and time to live in peace and prosperity," he stressed.

Bautista and other military and local government officials earlier signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) declaring the province as "peaceful and ready for further development."

This was held at King's Hotel in Bacolor, Pampanga at around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

He was joined by Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, 7th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Hernando DCA Iriberri, 703rd Infantry Brigade head Brig. Gen. Henry G. Sabarre, and Pampanga Gov. Lilia G. Pineda, among others.

With the signing of the MOA, the Philippine National Police will now take the lead role in fighting insurgents with the support of a military that will remain primarily for stakeholder engagement programs.

It is also a formal demonstration of different local government units and other government agencies to reinvigorate their role in peace and development in their respective communities.

This is also a way to accept and assert the local government's lead role in orchestrating the efforts of all agencies and stakeholders in the delivery of services designed to address the primary socioeconomic issues.

Pampanga is the last province out of the 22 provinces in the Northern Luzon Command area to be declared as peaceful with the constant decline in the number of NPA members and their mass base support.

A total of 21 provinces were declared peaceful in the area from 2009 to 2013, with La union and Nueva Vizcaya in 2009; Apayao, Aurora, Quirino, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Kalinga in 2010; Ilocos Norte and Benguet in 2011; Zambales, Abra and Bataan in 2012; and Batanes, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Cagayan, Ifugao, Bulacan and Mountain Province in 2013.

At present a total of 34 out of 79 provinces nationwide were already normalized.

"Pampanga was the last in the 22 provinces under the area of Northern Luzon Command to be normalized. Thus, the entire NOLCOM is now ready for further development," Catapang stressed.

Earlier, Northern Luzon Command troops began workshops and contingency planning with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine National Police (PNP) and other stakeholders related to humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

"The declaration of these provinces as peaceful and ready for further development is a manifestation of the continued support of stakeholders and our people in winning the peace," Catapang said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=605321