CHANGING OF THE GUARD. Army Brig. Gen. Eric Vinoya (center), commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, presides over the change of command of the 303rd Infantry Brigade at Camp Maj. Nelson Gerona in Murcia, Negros Occidental on Thursday (Dec. 12, 2019). Vinoya ordered Col. Inocencio Pasaporte (right), who succeeded Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo (left), to continue the fight against communist insurgency in Negros Island. (PNA photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver)
MURCIA, Negros Occidental -- The Philippine Army will continue to pursue the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros Island even during the Christmas and New Year holidays, Brig. Gen. Eric Vinoya, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said on Thursday.
“There’s no ceasefire. We will continue with our relentless effort,” he said.
Vinoya, who heads the anti-insurgency unit Joint Task Force (JTF) Negros, presided over the change of command of the 303rd Infantry Brigade at Camp Maj. Nelson Gerona here.
Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo relinquished his post as brigade commander to his deputy Col. Inocencio Pasaporte.
“My marching order to the new brigade commander is to continue the fight against insurgency. Do what the military has to do to continue supporting the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 70,” Vinoya said.
EO 70 seeks to institute a “whole-of-nation” approach in addressing insurgency through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Vinoya said more troops are expected to be deployed to Negros Island as the Army aims to dismantle the communist-terrorist groups’ northern and central fronts in the early part of 2020.
“Our timetable is up to early next year. We’re hoping it will happen this year so we can move on to the other fronts,” he said.
The Army official said the government forces are winning the war in Negros as he dismissed claims of militarization by left-leaning groups whenever more soldiers are deployed to the island.
“There’s no such thing as militarization. We’re just securing the area, we’re just freeing the area from their (CPP-NPA) influence,” he added.
Vinoya, however, did not say yet when the additional troops would arrive although he had previously mentioned that the JTF Negros would utilize air and naval assets of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to complement the ground forces to fast-track the anti-insurgency campaign in the two Negros provinces.
The CPP-NPA, which has been waging five decades of war against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088611
“There’s no ceasefire. We will continue with our relentless effort,” he said.
Vinoya, who heads the anti-insurgency unit Joint Task Force (JTF) Negros, presided over the change of command of the 303rd Infantry Brigade at Camp Maj. Nelson Gerona here.
Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo relinquished his post as brigade commander to his deputy Col. Inocencio Pasaporte.
“My marching order to the new brigade commander is to continue the fight against insurgency. Do what the military has to do to continue supporting the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 70,” Vinoya said.
EO 70 seeks to institute a “whole-of-nation” approach in addressing insurgency through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Vinoya said more troops are expected to be deployed to Negros Island as the Army aims to dismantle the communist-terrorist groups’ northern and central fronts in the early part of 2020.
“Our timetable is up to early next year. We’re hoping it will happen this year so we can move on to the other fronts,” he said.
The Army official said the government forces are winning the war in Negros as he dismissed claims of militarization by left-leaning groups whenever more soldiers are deployed to the island.
“There’s no such thing as militarization. We’re just securing the area, we’re just freeing the area from their (CPP-NPA) influence,” he added.
Vinoya, however, did not say yet when the additional troops would arrive although he had previously mentioned that the JTF Negros would utilize air and naval assets of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to complement the ground forces to fast-track the anti-insurgency campaign in the two Negros provinces.
The CPP-NPA, which has been waging five decades of war against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088611
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