National government agencies are looking at a total of 272 villages in Bicol that are still affected by insurgency as beneficiaries of socio-economic programs, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Friday.
Lawyer Arnoldo Escober Jr., DILG-Bicol assistant regional director, said of the 798 villages in the country identified as insurgency-affected or influenced areas, 34 percent or 272 villages are in the Bicol peninsula.
In a media forum, Escober said these Bicol villages are on the priority list of areas, where social and economic programs would be carried out through a convergence effort under the Whole-of-Nation-Approach to end the local communist armed conflict.
He said of the 272 Bicol villages, 119 barangays or 44 percent are on the island of Masbate and rest is spread across the five other provinces.
Col. Aldwine Almase, Army’s 9th Infantry Division chief of staff, said the military has validated that these areas are still considered as affected by the nefarious activities of the NPA communist terrorist group.
He said this year, military forces in Bicol have stepped up operations against the rebel group, resulting in the killing of 22 insurgents, recovery of 81 high-powered firearms, and clearing of 32 villages.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1084262
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