AFP transfers to Antique peace, security functions

From Malaya Business Insight (Nov 25): AFP transfers to Antique peace, security functions

THE military is due to turn over today to the local government of Antique the primary responsibility of internal peace and security operations, a military official said yesterday.

The handover will take place in response to the provincial government’s October 1 resolution accepting the responsibility, said Maj. Ray Tiongson, public affairs officer of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

Tiongson said the province was declared “conflict-manageable and development ready” in March 2013 after registering no violent incident from the communist New People’s Army since 2011.

“With the handover of the internal peace and security efforts, the lead role in maintaining the internal peace and security will be upon the Antique PPOC (provincial peace and order council),” he said.

Tiongson could not immediately give the number of NPA rebels in province but said it is already “negligible.”

“There are still remnants but they no longer have the capability to conduct atrocities, that’s why we have zero incident attributable the CPP-NPA,” he said.

Dozens of provinces throughout the country have been cleared of insurgency or declared as “conflict-manageable and development ready” over the past years as the military is continuing its campaign to defeat the decades-old insurgency problem.

Col. Eric Uchica, commander of the Army’s 301st Brigade, said the feat in Antique can be attributed to the partnership of the military with the police, local officials and other stakeholders.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/afp-transfers-antique-peace-security-functions