T’boli town declares CPP-NPA ‘persona non grata’

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The municipal government of T’boli in South Cotabato has declared the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) as “persona non grata.”

The move is contained in Resolution No. 94, series of 2019 passed by Sangguniang Bayan of Tboli on August 13.

Haide Agustin, head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said Thursday the municipality is the first in the province to declare the communist rebel movement as unacceptable or unwelcome.

“This is part of the local initiatives in line with the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 70,” Agustin told reporters.

EO 70, issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in December last year, institutionalizes the “whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace” in the country.

It paved the way for the creation of a National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and adoption of a national peace framework.

The local government of T’boli formally presented the resolution to the public in a ceremony on Monday.

T’boli Mayor Dibu Tuan said in a radio interview that the resolution deplored the series of atrocities launched by NPA rebels in the area in the past several years.

These include the burning of heavy equipment owned by private contractors, extortion, recruitment of minors, and other related “terrorist activities.”

Tuan said they are currently countering the activities of NPA rebels by reaching out and bringing government services to the people, especially those in the remote areas.

The local government has been conducting regular outreach activities through its flagship DST Kariton Project, he said.

Lt. Col. Jones Otida, commanding officer of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion (27IB), said T’boli has been one of the areas considered as vulnerable to recruitment and influence by the NPA rebels.

The area is covered by units under the NPA’s Front 73, which also includes the province’s boundaries with Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.

Otida said support from local communities -- predominantly inhabited by the T’boli tribe -- to the NPA has waned in the past years mainly due to the enhanced socio-economic outreach services of local government units in the area.

The intensified delivery of basic services, he said, has led to "a number of successful operations and the surrender of NPA rebels in the area."

Since January this year, the provincial government said at least 22 NPA rebels have already surrendered in the area.

An NPA rebel was killed while three others were arrested in an operation by the 27IB last June in Sitio Pangi, Barangay Lunen in Tupi town.

Last month, 27IB troopers also recovered a light machine gun and ammunition reportedly stashed by the NPA in a village in T’boli town that was allegedly intended for planned attacks on several companies in the area. (PNA)