LORETO, Agusan del Sur - The Municipal Peace and Order Council of this town renew their commitment to fight the communist NPA terrorists after a motion was approved declaring the members of the New Peoples Army and its allied organizations as persona non grata in the whole municipality on April 24, 2019.
A motion came from the Municipal Tribal Chieftain Datu Marcos Gonzales, seeking to prohibit the terrorists group from entering the municipality which is dominantly covered by the Manobo Ancestral Domains. "We as members and representatives of the Indigenous People and Community of Loreto are strongly expressing our opposition to the continuous abuse of our rights and numerous killings of IPs perpetrated by the NPAs against our tribe. We have our right to self-determination and we want them to stop encroaching inside our ancestral domains", he said.
The declaration came after numerous complaints of the tribal leaders from the barangays were reported to the council during the meeting wherein most tribal leaders are recently being threatened by the NPAs, aside from the recorded killings occurred from the previous years.
Loreto Municipal Mayor Ligaya Otaza underscored that the action of the council is just the renewal and continuation of the efforts of his late husband, former Mayor Dario Otaza, in his fight against the terrorists which he started during his stint that paved way for the total transformation of Loreto into a developing town.
Lieutenant Colonel Romeo C Jimenea, Commanding Officer of 26Ith Infantry Ever Onward Battalion, who seconded the motion also expressed his appreciation on the approval of the council. With this wise step of the MPOC, the barangays of Loreto will have an additional tool to strengthen their defense system legally against the NPAs and its allied organizations. What we are looking forward now is the immediate implementation of this action down to the barangay level after the resolution is finalized by the secretariat, according to him.
It can be remembered that the town of Loreto was once a NPA stronghold in the province of Agusan del Sur in 2013, after which it underwent an overall transformation when Dario Otaza, a Manobo and a former NPA commander, was elected into position as the Municipal Mayor, where he prioritized the peace and order of his town, resulting to the drastic change in the development of Loreto, making them become the first municipality in the Caraga region as venue of the National Peace Caravan in 2015.
According to Brigadier General Andres C Centino, Commander, 401st Brigade, "We have an increasing number of municipalities declaring these communist NPA terrorists as undesirables in our area. The municipality of Loreto is the fifth town to do such after the Local Government Units of Sibagat, San Francisco, Bunawan and Rosario passed their own resolutions. This is a clear manifestation that our local government officials are proactively and courageously doing their part in our whole-of-nation approach in addressing the threat of this terrorists".
“Through this collaborative efforts, we believe that we will successfully defeat all enemy fronts in the Brigades Area of Operation. With a total of 28 former rebels alone from Loreto and Veruela areas surrendered to us from January to date, we are expecting for more after this declaration, Centino said.
A motion came from the Municipal Tribal Chieftain Datu Marcos Gonzales, seeking to prohibit the terrorists group from entering the municipality which is dominantly covered by the Manobo Ancestral Domains. "We as members and representatives of the Indigenous People and Community of Loreto are strongly expressing our opposition to the continuous abuse of our rights and numerous killings of IPs perpetrated by the NPAs against our tribe. We have our right to self-determination and we want them to stop encroaching inside our ancestral domains", he said.
The declaration came after numerous complaints of the tribal leaders from the barangays were reported to the council during the meeting wherein most tribal leaders are recently being threatened by the NPAs, aside from the recorded killings occurred from the previous years.
Loreto Municipal Mayor Ligaya Otaza underscored that the action of the council is just the renewal and continuation of the efforts of his late husband, former Mayor Dario Otaza, in his fight against the terrorists which he started during his stint that paved way for the total transformation of Loreto into a developing town.
Lieutenant Colonel Romeo C Jimenea, Commanding Officer of 26Ith Infantry Ever Onward Battalion, who seconded the motion also expressed his appreciation on the approval of the council. With this wise step of the MPOC, the barangays of Loreto will have an additional tool to strengthen their defense system legally against the NPAs and its allied organizations. What we are looking forward now is the immediate implementation of this action down to the barangay level after the resolution is finalized by the secretariat, according to him.
It can be remembered that the town of Loreto was once a NPA stronghold in the province of Agusan del Sur in 2013, after which it underwent an overall transformation when Dario Otaza, a Manobo and a former NPA commander, was elected into position as the Municipal Mayor, where he prioritized the peace and order of his town, resulting to the drastic change in the development of Loreto, making them become the first municipality in the Caraga region as venue of the National Peace Caravan in 2015.
According to Brigadier General Andres C Centino, Commander, 401st Brigade, "We have an increasing number of municipalities declaring these communist NPA terrorists as undesirables in our area. The municipality of Loreto is the fifth town to do such after the Local Government Units of Sibagat, San Francisco, Bunawan and Rosario passed their own resolutions. This is a clear manifestation that our local government officials are proactively and courageously doing their part in our whole-of-nation approach in addressing the threat of this terrorists".
“Through this collaborative efforts, we believe that we will successfully defeat all enemy fronts in the Brigades Area of Operation. With a total of 28 former rebels alone from Loreto and Veruela areas surrendered to us from January to date, we are expecting for more after this declaration, Centino said.
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