A top military official in Eastern Visayas assured the
continuing Army presence in Leyte province despite the recent transfer of the
19th Infantry Battalion (IB) to North Cotabato .
Maj. Gen Velarmino, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry
Division based in Catbalogan City in Samar, said that the pull out of troops was
in response to the order from higher officials to augment troops in
conflict-stricken Mindanao provinces.
“Although we transferred them to Mindanao, that doesn’t mean
that we will leave the northern part of Leyte .
I assigned two units of reconnaissance team from Samar
and Division Headquarters to occupy the vacated area of 19th IB,” Velarmino
told reporters.
Velarmino assured insurgency situation in Leyte
is manageable considering that most of the towns covered have been declared as
rebel-free.
The absence of 19th IB will not also affect the on-going
activity of the government to declare areas in Leyte
as insurgency-free, according to the commander.
“It was only stopped due to election, but we will continue
it again with the assessment of Leyte
province,” he added.
Prior to the transfer, the Army has declared 17 towns under
the jurisdiction of the unit as insurgency-free. These are the towns of
Matag-ob, Merida , Palompon, Tabango, Barugo,
Babatngon, San Miguel, Leyte , Pastrana,
Tolosa, Dagami, Calubian, Sta. Fe, Alangalang, Tunga, Carigara and Palo.
The 19th IB based in Kananga
Sending the unit to Mindanao shows that Leyte insurgency
situation is more manageable than in Samar
provinces, according to Velarmino.
The battalion covers the northern part of Leyte
and Biliran province. The southern part of Leyte is under the 78th Infantry
Battalion stationed in Burauen, Leyte .
Velarmino added that sending troops to Mindanao
is also part of their battalion retraining.
“If they were not pulled out they would be non-operational
by August 1. They are currently undergoing battalion re-training in Carmen, North Cotabato before their assignment to the 6th
Infantry Division,” Velarmino added.
The official is still unsure when the 19th IB will be
re-assigned to Leyte again.
The battalion is the second unit of the 8th Infantry
Division moved to Mindanao to help in the
peacekeeping effort.
In 2009, top Army officials deployed the 46th Infantry
Battalion from Samar province to Mindanao
after the Maguindanao massacre. The battalion is now in Pantukan, Compostela Valley
This is not the first time that the 19th IB was deployed in Mindanao . From 1974 to 1979, the unit was sent to
Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. In 2001 to 2002, the battalion was assigned in
Sulu and Zamboanga
City
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=892613
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