Despite Camarines Sur’s declared status as already a
“peaceful and ready for further development” area, the Philippine Army (PA) is
not relenting on its intense anti-insurgency campaign in the province, which
recently resulted in the killing of two New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas.
A belated report reaching here Sunday from the PA’s 9th
Infantry (Spear) Division (ID) based in Pili, Camarines Sur identified the
slain rebels as Rodulfo Fuentabilla, alias Ronel, and Nike Rebuya, alias Mike.
One of their companions, which the report identified only as
a certain Ghie, was captured during the encounter that took place shortly
before noontime last Jan. 18 at Sitio Panag, Barangay Gibgos, Caramoan,
Camarines Sur.
All three were elements of the 14-man NPA band operating in
the province’s Partido Area led by unit commander Francisco Mendoza, alias
Omeng, according to the report which explained that the encounter ensued while
troopers of the PA’s 83rd Infantry Battalion and 91st Division Reconnaissance
Company under Lt. Raydez Acosta were conducting field security patrol.
The rest of the rebels withdrew after engaging the military
men in a 15-minute firefight, leaving behind their dead and cornered comrades.
Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Quidilla, the 9th ID commander, said in
the report that the encounter was a result of the intensified anti-insurgency
drive being initiated by the military in Bicol to toughen regional security
even as most parts of the region are already under the so-called
Conflict-Manageable and Ready for Further Development (CMRD) area status.
Camarines Sur was classified by the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) under such “peaceful” status in April last year based on a
resolution passed by the provincial legislative board declaring the entire
province as a CMRD area.
The resolution cited the relentless campaign of the AFP and
the Philippine National Police (PNP) in pursuit of peace and security, which
has finally gained ground in cutting down, if not totally eradicating,
activities of the NPA in the province.
Such declaration paved the way for the forging of a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the provincial government and the AFP
which formalized the "shifting effort from clearing of barangays from
insurgent affectation supported by socio-economic development to a reverse
role.”
The MOU, which came as a declaration of peace in the
province, emphasizes the implementation of more socio-economic and development
projects that the civil government will implement with the support and
protection of the military.
It was based on the decreased violent activities of the NPA,
the reduction of its manpower strength and firearms and potential support
system in the barangays as well as its failed recovery efforts.
The military said that from 2004 to 2014, the NPA strength
in terms of firearms and manpower in Camarines Sur had significantly decreased
to 74 from 91 percent while atrocities like extortion, harassment and
liquidation and non-violent activities like movements and mass actions also
followed a downward trend.
The AFP’s unrelenting commitment to peace through the
conduct of various civic actions under its intensified stakeholder engagement
with the local government units (LGUs) have contributed in the improvement of
the province’s tourism industry, increase in agricultural productivity and
inflow of private investments, it said.
The PA’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP),
with its Bayanihan Team Activities (BTA) showcasing a paradigm shift from
enemy-centered to people-centered approach resulting in a more cooperative
community, also enabled rebels to return to the folds of law and start a new
life.
These achievements, according to Quidilla, would have not
been possible without the cooperation of the leaders of the province along with
the LGUs 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.
In over 40 years, Quidilla said, Camarines Sur’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 industrial companies, extort money in the form of
“revolutionary taxes” from businessmen, contractors, local politicians and even
from farmers, and execute those who refuse to remit, including innocent
civilians and civilian government officials, he said.
The same situation, according Quidilla, had been true in all
the six provinces of Bicol until lately when three others of its six provinces
provinces—Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Albay -- were declared one after the
other as CMRD areas.
Catanduanes, an island-province, was placed under the same
declaration in December 2014 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 in
Catanduanes as well as in Camarines Norte, Albay and Camarines Sur have been
reduced to a minimal level that they can no longer pose a serious threat to
peace and order, providing once again a space where the people can feel safe
and grow as progressive communities.
With these four Bicol provinces already considered areas of
peace with insurgency regarded as already manageable, what are left with still
troubled situations are Sorsogon and Masbate
where the NPAs are reportedly being coddled by powerful local politicians for
use as political goons during elections.
While current military troop levels are maintained in
Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes and Camarines Norte to go on performing the
lead role in protecting the government’s anti-insurgency gains in these areas,
Quidilla said, “we can give more focus now on these remaining two provinces in
our internal security operations to finally end communist insurgency in the
Bicol region soon.”
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=849921
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