AFP declares CamNorte as second Bicol province freed from NPA

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 25): AFP declares CamNorte as second Bicol province freed from NPA

The Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) has claimed another momentous victory in its decades of fight against communist insurgency in Bicol by neutralizing the New People’s Army (NPA) and restoring peace in the province of Camarines Norte.

The province is now “peaceful and ready for further development,” a recent statement of the AFP said as it forged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the provincial government formalizing its declaration as a “Conflict Manageable and Ready for Development (CMRD)” area.

The document was signed by Major Gen. Yerson Depayso, commanding general of the 9th Infantry (Spear) Division of the Philippine Army (PA), in behalf of the AFP and Gov. Edgardo Tallado, in behalf of the provincial government.

The signing of the MOU, according to Depayso, signalled the "shifting of effort" from clearing of barangays from insurgent affectation supported by socio-economic development to a reverse role.

The signing ceremony emphasized the implementation of more socio-economic and development projects that the civil government will implement with the support and protection of the military, the PA commander said in a statement reaching here over the weekend.

Major Gen. Ricardo Visaya, the AFP’s Southern Luzon Command chief, said during the occasion held in Daet, the provincial capital, that the declaration of peace in the province was based on the decreased violent activities of the NPA, the reduction of its potential support system in the barangays and its failed recovery efforts.

This achievement, according to Visaya, would not be possible without the cooperation of the leaders of the province, along with the local government units, who have partnered with the AFP in fighting insurgency.

The 45-year- old insurgency being waged by the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), he said, has been preventing the progress and economic development of the province and all other affected localities in Bicol and in the country.

“This MOU brings great pleasure for it is a proof that the efforts of the government and its armed forces to restore peace and tranquility in the province have not been put in vain. We in the military stand by our mandate as the protector of the people and keepers of the integrity of the state,” Visaya stressed.

At least, the AFP has once again provided a space in Bicol where the people can feel safe and grow as progressive communities, in the case this time of Camarines Norte, he said.

The AFP has been maintaining the presence of the Philippine Army (PA) for about 16 years now in Bicol with its 9th Infantry (Spear) Division (ID) based in Pili, Camarines Sur, manning the internal security of the region from the activities of the NPA.

This PA ID is in command of three infantry brigades composed of eight infantry battalions and seven support units, including an engineering battalion, distributed in all the six provinces of the region.

In over 40 years, Visaya said, Camarines Norte’s opportunity to advance to progress -- with its vast mineral deposits, agricultural lands, rich fishing grounds, exotic tourist destinations, rich natural resources and hard-working people -- has been stalled by unstable peace situation due to the presence of the NPAs and the culture of violence it has developed among local communities.

They prevent the implementation of government infrastructure projects, harass mining companies, extort money in the form of “revolutionary taxes” from businessmen, contractors and even from farmers, and execute those who refuse to remit including innocent civilians and civilian government officials. Visaya recalled that former Camarines Norte governor Roy Padilla Sr. was assassinated by the NPAs for his disapproval of their anti-people activities.

The late governor was appointed officer-in-charge of the province by Pres. Corazon Aquino in 1987,during the revolutionary government, following the historic EDSA Revolution.

He ran for governor and won posthumously as he was killed on the eve of the January 18, 1988 elections.

Now, the strength of the rebels in the province has been reduced from about 200 guerrilla fighters to only about 30, with limited firearms, according to Visaya.

In a separate statement, Tallado said that with the declaration of peace in his province, his administration can now intensify the implementation of its programs and projects geared toward bringing the government closer to the people.

He also attributed the success of the government in restoring peace in the province to the implementation of various countryside development projects of the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA), a priority program under the peace agenda of the Aquino administration geared at ending internal armed conflicts.

Tallado said a total of about Php350 million has been poured into the province under this program from 2011 to 2013 which were all satisfactorily implemented and now serving communities very well towards PAMANA’s aim of attaining economic progress for the areas covered.

The projects communicate effectively among communities the initiatives of government in building the culture of peace and development in the countryside to make them resilient against the anti-government whims of the insurgency being carried out by the NPA, he added.

Camarines Norte is the second Bicol province declared by the AFP as a CMRD area, given that the local insurgency problem had already been contained.

The first was the island of Catanduanes which was placed under the same declaration last December owing to the dwindling local insurgency level observed during the recent years from the constant decrease of NPA manpower, firearms, affected barangays and activities.

The local CPP-NPA-NDF politico-military organizations have been reduced to a minimal level that they can no longer pose a serious threat to peace and order in the province, the military said.

The restored peace in these two provinces reduced to four the remaining Bicol areas being troubled by insurgency problems—Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate and Sorsogon.

While current troop levels are maintained in Catanduanes and Camarines Norte to go on performing the lead role in protecting the government’s anti-insurgency gains in these areas, Depayso said “we can give more focus now on these remaining four provinces in our internal security operations to finally end communist insurgency in the Bicol region soon.”

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