36 villages declared insurgency-free

From the Sun Star-Davao (Jun 18): 36 villages declared insurgency-free

A TOTAL of 36 insurgency-affected barangays of Davao City and Davao Del Norte were declared as cleared, peaceful and conflict-resilient communities successively on June 13 and 15, Wednesday and Friday.

The 21 barangays declared clear of insurgency in Davao City are: Alambre, Bangkas Heights, Bato, Bayabas, Eden, Marapangi, Mulig, Sirawan and Tagurano of Toril; Riverside and Sirib of Calinan; Carmen, Tawan-tawan and Baguio Proper of Baguio; Bantol, Buda and Marilog Proper of Marilog; and, Angalan, Manambulan, New Carmen and Tagakpan of Tugbok, all in Davao City.

In Davao del Norte, the barangays are: Buenavista, Consolacion, Katipunan, Katualan, Kauswagan, Kiotoy, Upper Licanan, Little Panay, Mabunao, Malativas, San Nicholas, San Roque, Sta. Cruz, Tagpore, and Waterfalls, all in Panabo City.

Philippine Army’s 1003rd Infantry Brigade commander Brigadier General Ernesto Torres Jr. said the successful clearing was finally reached following an eight-month community support team deployment of the military in these areas.

Torres said all of these were made possible by close collaboration with the police, barangay officials and the city government both of Davao City and Panabo City in addressing the issues that gave rise to insurgency.

The Area Clearing Validation Board (ACBV) composed of officers from the Philippine Army’s 1003rd Infantry Brigade, 10th Infantry Division, Davao City Police Office (DCPO), Davao Del Norte Provincial Police Office, local government executives and barangay captains from 36 barangays convened to validate the recommendation of the Evaluation Board for the clearing of said barangays during the two separate occasions.

The ACVB unanimously declared and signed through a resolution that the 36 barangays have all met the parameters for the clearing of insurgency-affected barangays to include the dismantling of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the area, NPA politico-military structure; the denial of NPA access to the area, resources, and manpower; and the establishment of a functioning barangays information net and integrated community public safety system, among others.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1748490/Davao/Local-News/36-villages-declared-insurgency-free