Iloilo declared ‘peaceful, ready for further dev’t’

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 26): Iloilo declared ‘peaceful, ready for further dev’t’

The Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) has unanimously approved Thursday a resolution declaring Iloilo as peaceful and ready for further development.

The 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) of the Philippine Army proposed for the said declaration for Iloilo province.

Iloilo is the last province in Panay that is declared peaceful. The target timeline for the declaration was supposedly December last year but it did not push through because of some intervening events like typhoon and Papal visit, 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) of the Philippine Army Commander Major General Rey Leonardo Guerrero earlier said.

The PPOC approved the said resolution during their quarterly meeting held at the provincial capitol.

Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade Commander Colonel Eric Uchida, who attended the PPOC meeting, said since the resolution was approved by the body, it will be followed by a joint signing of a resolution between Police, Army and local government officials to this effect.

“When we say the area peaceful and ready for further development, it doesn’t mean that there is no incidence of insurgency. There is still in some areas but it will not hamper the development efforts of the government,” said Uchida.

Meanwhile, Guerrero noted that for a long time, the skirmishes and presence of New People’s Army (NPA) in Iloilo have subsided and the countryside has been partly normalized wherein essential services of the government can be already be delivered.

In December 2014, the province of Capiz was declared as peaceful while Guimaras was the very first in Panay to be declared such followed by Antique and Aklan.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=739384