Pangasinan remains insurgency-free, say
DESPITE ARMED ENCOUNTER
PANGASINAN is still considered insurgency-free, despite the armed encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the members of the New People’s Army in the mountainous terrain of Mangatarem last Tuesday.
Major Mico Magisa, public information officer of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM), said the encounter happening in Pangasinan does not necessarily mean it is no longer insurgency-free.
Proof of it, Magisa said, was the decision of barangay residents to report the presence f the armed rebels to the Army, meaning the rebels are being denied support.
He said an area is considered insurgency-free if rebels don’t have support in the area as he stressed that public support is crucial to the movement of rebels in the area.
“The encounter last Tuesday is testament that the people wanted the rebels out”, he said.
Meanwhile, Police Provincial Director Redrico Maranan, echoed the Army’s claim.
Maranan said Pangasinan remains insurgency-free because based on the technical definition of insurgency free, the leftist group has no activity affecting the entire community which is detrimental to peace and order even if the mountainous part or remote area of Mangatarem is included in the area of operation of ideological works in the recruitment and dissemination of indoctrination of the leftist group.
The chief of provincial police said the government will not stop fighting terrorism and continues to focus on geographically isolated disadvantage areas (GIDA) through Executive Order 70 of President Rodrigo Duterte which led to the formation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), created as a whole-of-nation approach to achieve inclusive and sustainable peace.
Briefly, Maranan said the NTF – ELCAC is a multi-agency approach to address the needs and sentiments of those in remote barangays from road access to irrigation.
Magisa also pointed to the series of surrenders recently from NPA ranks and the continuous feelers being sent by rebels wanting to surrender. He advised those considering to surrender to approach their barangay chairman or the town’s mayor or even the army.
He assured that rights of surrendering rebels will be respected, and will be assisted in formalizing their surrender and availment of grants from the Enhanced Comprehensive Integration Program (ECIP) that provides around P700k worth of benefits to qualified surrenders including P65,000 cash assistance upon enrolment, plus government housing once they meet certain criteria and training from TESDA to assist them in their reintegration. (Ahikam Pasion/Nora Dominguez)
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