Col. Erickson Rosana (center), Asst. Chief of Staff for Operation of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) urges politicians on Wednesday (Feb. 6, 2019) not to give in to extortion demands of New People's Army. (Photo by Ma. Leonora Estanque)
ILOILO CITY -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is calling on candidates not to give in to extortion demands of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Col. Erickson Rosana, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operation of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), in a press conference on Wednesday, bared they received reports from election candidates, especially from the Central Panay area, about armed groups asking for payment in exchange for permit to campaign (PTC).
Moreover, the AFP will subject to validation the information that there are politicians who have contacts with the NPA.
“We will release the names once we have fully validated the data and the Regional Joint Security Control Center (RJSCC) will be responsible for that,” Rosana added.
The national headquarters of the AFP has already validated the presence of terrorist groups in four barangays in Western Visayas while 10 additional barangays will still be subjected to validation.
Once a barangay is identified as infiltrated by NPA or armed groups, the AFP will deploy troops in the area and at the same time an investigation will be conducted to determine why the barangay was infiltrated.
Rosana also emphasized that once a barangay is cleared, it doesn’t mean that they could not be infiltrated again.
The AFP assured the public that it will strengthen and focus their military operations on the hinterland areas to prevent the terrorist groups from sabotaging and destroying the peaceful conduct of the mid-term elections.
Meantime, it was revealed that Western Visayas has 88 NPA surrenderers since last year.
“They were forced to surrender due to our intensified combat operations coupled with social pressure from various sectors,” Rosanna said.
The AFP also called on remaining members of the communist terrorist group to avail of the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program of the government for them to start a new life.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1061198
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