ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) has vowed to dismantle the only remaining guerrilla front – Komiteng Rehiyonal Panay Central Front – of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Panay to pave the way for the declaration of a Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) in the island by September 2024.
3ID commander Major General (MGen) Marion R. Sison made the statement during the recent edition of the Philippine Information Agency’s (PIA) Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, noting that the front is already considered “weakened.”
“It is better for you to give in and to give way for peace kasi wala naman silang mapupuntahan, it is either macapture sila or mamatay sila. Hindi tayo titigil hanggang hindi natin sila nauubos or masabi natin na irrelevant na ang kanilang organization,” Sison stressed.
(It is better for you to give in and to give way for peace because they have nowhere to go, it is either they get captured or they die. We will not stop until we exhaust them or we can say that their organization is no longer relevant.)
Some of the parameters followed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to declare insurgency-free, according to Sison, are the manpower and strength of the fronts, and if they can no longer inflict atrocities.
Sison revealed that there are only 23 remaining members of the Central Front in Panay as the troops’ focus military operations are already centered to the boundaries of the different provinces in the island to capture the rebels.
The general also pointed out that the rebels are already having a hard time to recruit new members, particularly in schools, as the military men are also conducting campaigns to combat the possible recruitment.
Meanwhile, 3ID’s 301st Brigade Commander Brigadier General Michael Samson said that is not just President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., but also the people in the community, who want to put a stop on the armed conflict, noting that the rebels should just surrender and go back to the arms of the government.
“But to those who insist on fighting this government, the government force, then we have no choice, but to fight them back,” Samson also warned.
He stressed that the government is always ready to give them another chance through different programs as their return in the mainstream society would also usher in more development projects for the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in Panay.
Data from the 3ID indicated that from 2016 to 2024, there are already 692 former rebels (FRs) who are enrolled to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), 577 FRs were given immediate assistance, 198 were given livelihood assistance and 190 for reintegration program.
The 3ID also acknowledged the help brought by the Executive Order (EO) No. 70 to end local armed conflict as the EO aimed to institutionalize the whole-of-nation approach for collective participation and action in harmonizing government development efforts and services to support, facilitate and pursue the country’s peace agenda. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
