PNA file photo of Capt. Jerry Lamosao, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division.
DAVAO CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) 70, which seeks to institute a "whole of government" approach in addressing communist insurgency, has resulted in decreased armed engagements between government troops and the New People’s Army (NPA), an official said on Wednesday.
Capt. Jerry Lamosao, spokesperson of the Army's 10th Infantry Division (ID), said the various components lauded the mechanisms established by EO 70, such as the creation of Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC) in every region.
Lamosao said EO 70 has resulted in the intensified grassroots campaign against the NPA, which he attributed to the decline in the number of armed encounters with government forces.
“NPA members opted to surrender and leave the group as it became useless,” Lamosao said.
He said the regional task force has been directed to ensure the "efficient and effective implementation" of the "whole of nation" approach, which is supervised by the Office of the President.
“No more wars have been recorded so far; this is due to the efforts of the clusters created of the TF-ELCAC on the ground,” Lamosao said.
Lamosao said with the intensified enforcement of EO 70, TF-ELCAC cluster members have been providing necessary services to the people, especially those who are geographically isolated or located in disadvantaged, conflict-affected areas in Davao Region.
He said the delivery of basic services and social development packages in conflict-affected areas, "including the collaborative efforts of the government forces and other national agencies, led to the massive surrender of NPA regulars and their supporters.”
Records from the 10ID showed that as of September 2019, at least 958 NPA members and supporters have voluntarily surrendered to the government.
He noted that only 68 armed encounters have been recorded under the 10ID ‘s area of responsibility, or more than half of the 103 encounters listed in the same period in 2018.
“About 14 NPA members were killed during armed engagements,” he said, adding the military managed to recover a total of 186 firearms and 221 surrendered firearms.
“We will continue to intensify our operation to end communist armed conflicts,” Lamosao said. (PNA)
