CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Region 10 on Tuesday welcomed the move of two Northern Mindanao provinces to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) persona non grata in their respective areas.
In a press statement, Brig. Gen. Rafael Santiago Jr., Police Region Office-10 director, commended Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon provinces for "standing up" against the NPA guerrillas in their areas, even as he hopes other provinces would follow suit.
“The police and military cannot do this alone. We need the help of our local government leaders and their constituents in our effort to achieve an insurgency-free Northern Mindanao,” Santiago said.
Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, PRO-10 spokesperson, said they have been closely working with local government units and the Philippine Army to ensure an end to communist insurgency in the region.
Just recently, the provincial government of Oriental announced that 16 of its 24 towns have already passed rejecting the CPP-NPA's presence in their areas, and declared the communist rebel movement and their fronts persona non grata.
These towns include Alubijid, Balingasag, Binuangan, Claveria, Initao, Jasaan, Lagonglong, Libertad, Magsaysay, Manticao, Medina, Opol, Tagoloan, Talisayan, Laguindingan, and El Salvador City.
A statement from the Misamis Oriental provincial government said the LGUs are “fed up with the incessant atrocities perpetrated by the CPP-NPA against civilians and destruction of civilian properties.”
In Bukidnon, the local chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) also passed a resolution during its Sept. 18 meeting declaring the CPP-NPA persona non grata in the province.
In a statement, the league deplored the communist rebels’ “incessant attacks targeting civilian non-combatants and deliberate destruction of civilian-owned equipment and other properties in defiance and blatant disregard to the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).”
Since January this year, the LMP-Bukidnon said the NPA has staged a series of attacks against civilian establishments seizing firearms from security personnel, burning and destroying properties, equipment vehicles in various parts of the province.
Brig. Gen. Edgardo de Leon, the Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade commander, noted that despite the IHL violations committed by the NPA, not a single IHL case was filed at the Regional Trial Court Branch 25, the special court designated to try IHL cases based in Cagayan de Oro.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
