MONITORING CNTs. Civil-Military Relations Officer, 1Lt. Gil Gamay, of the Philippine Army 61st Infantry Battalion, requests barangay captains in Antique to help monitor activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army Terrorists (CNTs). In a meeting with the barangay captains and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Covid-19 at the Binirayan Gymnasium in San Jose de Buenavista on Tuesday (July 7, 2020), Gamay said 35 non-violent activities of the CNTs were monitored during the first semester of 2020. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – A village chief from this province’s Sebaste town has committed to help the Philippine Army in monitoring the activities of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army Terrorists (CNTs) in their area.
“We will inform the village folks that they should not support the CNTs because if they do, these terrorists will stay in their barangays,” said Barangay Idio Chairperson Pamela Azucena, president of the Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) in Sebaste, in an interview on Thursday.
Azucena said they will do their respective roles in the maintenance of peace and order in their barangays. Barangay Idio is one of the 10 barangays of Sebaste.
In her village, she said some CNTs would knock at doorsteps to ask for food or other needs.
“What is just good is that the village folks cooperate with the police,” she said.
Azucena's commitment came after Civil-Military Relations Officer, 1Lt. Gil Gamay, of the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB), on Tuesday requested the LnB of Antique to help in the monitoring of CNT activities in their areas as well as persuade them not to give in to their demands.
“Please inform the barangay folks not to entertain the CNTs when they visit for they would not bring any good,” he said during a meeting attended by the provincial task force against Covid-19 and the Liga heads.
While Antique was declared as peaceful and ready for development way back in 2015, yet there were efforts done by the CNTs in several villages of the province to recover their influence.
The Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), formed in September 2019, targets to clear areas in the towns of Culasi, Valderrama, San Remigio, Sibalom and Hamtic, where terrorists were monitored.
Gamay said the Army has monitored 35 non-violent activities of the CNTs during the first semester of this year in the towns of Sebaste, Culasi, Barbaza, Laua-an, and in Patnongon in the northern part of the province; and in Sibalom, San Remigio, and Hamtic in the southern part.
“The non-violent activities include recruitment, food acquisition, and planning,” he said.
In a text message Thursday, Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara, commanding officer of the 61IB, said 15 barangays in the province are CNT-affected.
These include seven villages in San Remegio town, three in Sibalom, two in Hamtic, and one each in Sebaste, Culasi and Tibiao.
Gamay said attaining peace and development in the province is a shared responsibility where the barangay captains could help a lot.
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)
