Lawyer Elisa Evangelista-Lapina, municipal administrator of Santo Tomas town, Davao del Norte, and former Peace 911 focal person of Davao City. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)
SANTO TOMAS, Davao del Norte--This municipality will formally declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) persona non grata on Monday (September 30), an official said.
Atty. Elisa Evangelista-Lapina, the municipal administrator, said the declaration adheres to the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to free the municipalities from communist insurgency by not welcoming the presence of the NPA and other armed groups.
Vice Mayor Gabrielle Eric Estela said a resolution declaring the CPP-NPA persona non grata was already approved on September 23.
About six insurgency-vulnerable barangays here have already been declared by the military as cleared of NPA presence, namely: Magwawa, San Jose, Tulalian, Balagunan, Bugungon, and New Visayas.
Lapina noted that the NPA has been operating in some parts of the town "for the longest time," prompting the local government to heighten its anti-insurgency initiatives.
"There is really a need to declare that they are no longer welcome in our municipality. They even make it as their resting place," Lapina said.
She said some of the NPA units Davao City's Paquibato District, which has earlier been declared insurgency-free, have fled to this municipality.
As a result, Lapina, who used to head Davao City's anti-insurgency initiative dubbed Peace 911, expressed interest in replicating the program here.
Davao City's Peace 911 was launched by the city government of Davao in May last year. It is a peace and development initiative that seeks to bring together all local and national government offices to address the root causes of insurgency in the city's hinterlands.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Freddie Mesa Jr., the executive officer of the Army's 89th Infantry Battalion, said the rebels have been spotted in areas bordering this town and Paquibato district.
Mesa said the active rebel group operating in the town is the NPA's Guerilla Front 55 composed of about 36 members.
"We are doing our best to locate and neutralize them," he assured.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081735
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