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Negros anti-insurgency task force chief blasts NDF

By Nanette Guadalquiver

October 3, 2019, 12:49 pm

<p><strong>TOGETHER FOR PEACE.</strong> Brig. Gen. Eric Vinoya (3rd from left), commander of Joint Task Force Negros, and Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo (4th from left), commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade, link arms for peace with (from left) Escalante Mayor Melecio Yap Jr., actor Robin Padilla, Negros Occidental Police Director Col. Romeo Baleros, and former rebel 'Ka Joros' during the North Negros Summit held in Escalante City, Negros Occidental on September 20, 2019. <em> (PNA Bacolod file photo) </em></p>

TOGETHER FOR PEACE. Brig. Gen. Eric Vinoya (3rd from left), commander of Joint Task Force Negros, and Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo (4th from left), commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade, link arms for peace with (from left) Escalante Mayor Melecio Yap Jr., actor Robin Padilla, Negros Occidental Police Director Col. Romeo Baleros, and former rebel 'Ka Joros' during the North Negros Summit held in Escalante City, Negros Occidental on September 20, 2019.  (PNA Bacolod file photo) 

BACOLOD CITY -- The chief of the military’s anti-insurgency unit in Negros Island has assailed the National Democratic Front (NDF)-Negros for making a mockery of the Negrenses’ desire for peace.

Brig. Gen. Eric Vinoya, commander of Joint Task Force (JTF) Negros, said in a statement on Wednesday it is a shame the NDF cannot comprehend the people’s will and still keeps on dreaming that it still have their support.

“Who are you to insult and belittle the Negrenses’ fervent desire to end your senseless and bloody armed struggle?” Vinoya questioned Bayani Obrero, spokesperson of NDF-Negros.

The NDF, the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), recently posted on its website Obrero’s statement claiming that Vinoya, also the assistant commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade, based in Murcia, Negros Occidental, are having the “illusion” of destroying insurgency in Negros by the end of the year.

“If there is someone who is hallucinating, it is you who is very desperate to destroy the concerted efforts of the people to stand against your ruthlessness and even have the guts to beg for their support,” Vinoya shot back at Obrero. 

He added that the CPP-NPA-NDF will no longer get support from Negrenses who have chosen to embrace the culture of peace and even from their former comrades, who have forsaken them after being the living witnesses of the communist-terrorist group’s inhumane activities.

“The people have spoken. The cities and municipalities of Negros Island have declared you persona non grata which indicates they are fed up with your atrocities. The truth is they don’t want you to enter and hinder their peaceful and progressive community,” the Army official added.

Vinoya said the targets of JTF Negros are those waging violence and terror against the people, particularly the CPP-NPA-NDF, which are the true human rights violators.

“The JTF Negros is here to strengthen the majority’s effort to make your dying armed cause permanently irrelevant. Despite that, we are giving you the last chance to surrender before you will be hit by the iron fist of the JTF Negros,” he said.

Earlier, Vinoya said the JTF Negros will utilize the air and naval assets of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to complement the ground forces to fast-track the anti-insurgency campaign in the two Negros provinces.

“If you don’t surrender, expect more combat encounters in the next few weeks as all military units in Negros will be utilized to hunt you and hit you very hard,” the task force chief warned the CPP-NPA.

JTF Negros was formed on September 1 to “undertake(s) operational control of all AFP units in Negros in conducting internal security operations to ultimately dismantle priority guerilla fronts and defeat the communist terrorist group in the island.” 

The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.  (PNA)

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