PERSONA NON GRATA. Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 Regional Director, Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan (right), supports Col. Martin Defensor, Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) director, in declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army unwelcome in Iloilo City on Monday (August 19, 2019). Pamuspusan assured that the police is doing its role in preventing rebels' recruitment of the youth through its Community Support Program teams. (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY -- The Police Regional Office (PRO) in Western Visayas on Monday supported the plan of this city’s police director to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as "unwelcome".
Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, PRO-6 regional director, said he is “in favor” of the stand of Col. Martin Defensor, Jr., director of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), in pushing for the "persona non-grata" status of the rebel group.
“The national sentiment now is to really to go after this communist group,” Pamuspusan said in a press conference at Camp Martin Delgado here.
However, he said Defensor must have a basis for the recommendation.
“I still have to see his recommendations for these things. I will read first,” he said.
Although there were no atrocities committed by the CPP-NPA recorded in this city, Defensor previously said the ICPO believed “legal activities like financial transactions” were done by the rebels.
“We have reports of extortion activities under the umbrella of the CPP-NPA. So by a declaration of persona non grata, we are sending them a signal, a strong message they are not really welcome in the city,” Defensor said.
The ICPO director believes that by rejecting the presence of the CPP-NPA, its members will have a limited area to operate in, will feel unaccepted, and eventually yield.
Meanwhile, Pamuspusan recognized the alarm raised by parents over the reported recruitment activities of the rebels.
“We have read many of it (reports). In fact, some of the parents are alarmed because of the recruitment of young students and we need to stop these happenings in our society,” he said.
He said the PRO-6 is doing its part to prevent the recruitment and other activities of the CPP-NPA.
“We have CSP (Community Support Program) teams who just graduated. They have undergone training with the Philippine Army,” Pamuspusan said.
In July, a total of 359 police personnel from PRO-6 finished their three-month CSP training at Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz.
The CSP is a people-centered program which aims to bring peace and development in conflict-affected barangays. It is an initiative of state forces to bring government projects and programs closer to the people through immediate delivery of basic services especially to grassroots communities.
“They (CSP teams) are also checking if there are recruitment activities in our local schools. We will try to engage the colleges so that we can prevent these things,” Pamuspusan said.
He noted that so far, the PRO-6 has not received any report of CPP-NPA youth recruitment.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1078174
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.