Army aims to reduce rebel-influenced villages in NegOcc in 2014

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 2): Army aims to reduce rebel-influenced villages in NegOcc in 2014

The Philippine Army in Negros Occidental is aiming to reduce this year the number of rebel-influenced barangays in the province.

Col. Jon Aying, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade based in Murcia town, said that currently, 40 barangays are "gripped with fear from the threat of the rebels."

Military estimates show there are about 200 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels left in Negros Occidental.

"But I believe that the number will go down this year as many of the members of the NPA are already surrendering beacuse of the hard life they experienced in the mountains," Aying said.

He also reiterated his call to the rebels to leave the underground movement and return to the mainstream society.

Meanwhile, Aying said he does believe that the government should take the initiative to encourage the Communist Party of the Philippines to return to the peace negotiating table.

"For me, it should come from their own realization that what they fighting for is wrong," he said. “We should encourage them to join the government in finding and solving social issues."

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=601308