No NPA, ‘Red October’ sorties in Pangasinan: police force

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 5): No NPA, ‘Red October’ sorties in Pangasinan: police force

The 1st and 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) in the province assured the public that there are no activities concerning the "Red October" ouster plot and that there are no Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) hotspots in the province.

In a radio interview, Superintendents Cirilo Acosta Jr. and Marceliano Desamito Jr., first commanders of 1st and 2nd PMFC respectively, noted that per their strict monitoring, they learned that no recruitment or amassing of forces was being done by the "Reds" in their respective areas of responsibility.

“We have seen no NPA activities in the province. The province of Pangasinan was declared anew as 'insurgency-free', hence the areas under constant watch are already considered white areas – those with negative activity from the Reds,” Acosta said.

In Pangasinan, two PMFCs have been deployed – the 1st PMFC to the 1st to 3rd Districts of the province, while the remaining three districts are under the 2nd PMFC.

“Despite the assigned territories, patrolling activities between our companies may overlap,” Acosta said, adding that this does not adversely affect their operations. On the contrary, they are able to provide augmentation to other police operations, he said.

One of the PMFC’s main objectives is to combat all forms of insurgency in its area of responsibility, Desamito noted.

“For almost a decade of keeping a watchful eye against the CPP-NPA, the entire province is already within our full control. No traces remain,” he said even as he assured their consistent vigilance against the communist rebels.

“There may be no buildup of forces here, but we guarantee the public that we will be continuous in our surveillance and patrolling in the province – and that we won’t let any harm befall our kaluyagan (provincemate),” Desamito stressed.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1050109