Former rebel leader welcomes Negros declaration as 'zone of peace'

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 2): Former rebel leader welcomes Negros declaration as 'zone of peace'

A former top official of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) welcomes efforts to declare Negros as a zone of peace even as Negros Oriental had been declared a conflict manageable and development-ready province.

Former rebel leader now Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano of Abang Lingkod Partylist based in Bacolod City, said declaring Negros Island Region as a Zone of Peace is fair enough and would be a great challenge for the leaders in both provinces, knowing how guerilla warfare is fought.

“I’ve been there for more than 20 years and I know the problems, the root cause, ideology and direction of the rebel movement including the real politics within the organization,” Paduano pointed out.

Declaring Negros Occidental and the entire island as a Zone of Peace is a welcome development but he said there must be safety nets to prevent rebels from having a hand in it, he added.

Paduano further said during his recent visit here that he has observed that armed engagements between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) in Negros Occidental and the entire island is waning while the parliament of the streets is not so frequent unlike before.

The two major indicators that the problem of insurgency is not anymore significant in this part of the country, he went on to say.

However, Paduano said a major blow against government should be avoided, because declaring the island as a zone of peace does not mean the NPAs are no longer around, especially with reports they come from either Bohol or Cebu and that the South East Front of the New People Army in Negros Oriental is headed by a Boholano.

He explained that under guerilla warfare, insurgents can move freely as long as there is room for maneuver.

On the other hand, Governor Roel Degamo said this is a struggle for both provinces of Negros to become insurgency-free.

Insofar as Negros Oriental is concerned, the governor stressed there is no need to rebel against government because his administration is seriously attending to the needs of the masses and the people while programs and projects are directed to the poor, such as opening and construction of roads, energizing hinterland barangays, construction of water facilities and livelihood opportunities, among others.

This developed as five more barangays have been declared by their respective councils as being free from any affectations of the rebel movement.

These are barangays Milagrosa, Talalak, Nagbalaye and Nagbinlod in Sta. Catalina and barangay Apoloy in Siaton, all in Negros Oriental.

According to Major Dranreb Canto, civil military operations officer of the 302nd brigade, the Philippine Army has conducted an area clearing validation of the five barangays, thus a joint resolution for that matter was submitted to Gov. Degamo for his approval.

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