'Stable' peace, security in Panay eyed

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 8, 2024): 'Stable' peace, security in Panay eyed (By Perla Lena)

WEAKENED. The cadavers of three of the four fatalities during a clash between government troops and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in San Joaquin, Iloilo on Feb. 28, 2024. Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, chief of the 3rd Division Public Affairs Office, said in an interview on Thursday (March 7, 2024) that the two fronts of the NPA in Panay are already weakened and they target to dismantle them in the third quarter of the year and eventually declare a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security in Panay before 2024 ends. (Contributed photo)

ILOILO CITY – The Philippine Army hopes to declare a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) in Panay before this year ends by working on dismantling the two already-weakened guerrilla fronts on the island.

Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, chief of the 3rd Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO), said the Central Panay and Southern Panay Fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA) no longer have any hold on any of the barangays in these areas after losing their political-military structure in the villages.

“We already have zero-affected barangays. If we dismantled them by the third quarter, then we will facilitate the declaration of SIPS,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

Javines said the declaration of SIPS could boost investor confidence.

Aside from having a stable power supply, the business sector looks at security as a parameter when investing.

He said the Feb. 28 encounter with members of the Southern Panay Front, Komiteng Rehiyon Panay in San Joaquin town in Iloilo, was a big blow to the communist group.

The encounter left four members of the communist group dead while one was captured. The group also lost several firearms.

“They will have difficulty looking for a replacement if they lose their senior officials,” he said, adding that their operations resulted in the neutralization of their squad leader, finance, and medical officers.

He also credited the support of civilians for providing them with information.

“The popular support of our civilians is a very important indicator. If we can get information from them, it means they are no longer supporting the armed group,” he added.

Meanwhile, the bodies of three of the four fatalities during the encounter had already been claimed by their respective families.

Javines said they are still trying to identify the fourth, earlier identified as Patrick Reovoca, because his family denied that it was him.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1220329