Laguna town declared ‘insurgency-free’

CAVINTI, Laguna: The municipality of Cavinti in Laguna, has been declared in a state of stable internal peace and security (SIPS) for being insurgency-free.

A body composed of military and government agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, February 27, at Poblacion Plaza, J.P. Rizal Street in this town, formalizing the SIPS status after the municipality successfully met the criteria, notably the absence of recorded New People’s Army (NPA) violent activities for at least one year.

In his speech, Cavinti Mayor Arrantlee Arroyo, who is also the chief of Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, lauded the collective efforts of the concerned government agencies for the declaration, which he said, “would usher in more investors and open up more job and economic opportunities in the municipality.”

He said that the communist terrorist group (CTG) and its sectoral front organizations are not welcome in Cavinti, which became the third town in

Laguna to be granted the status after Kalayaan and Sta. Maria towns. The two towns achieved the SIPS status last year.

Brig. Gen. Cerillo Balaoro Jr., commander of the Philippine Army’s 202nd Infantry Brigade, was represented by Maj. Gen. Roberto Capulong, commander of the 202nd Infantry Division, during the signing ceremony.

“We are one in this declaration to achieve national unity and end the local communist armed conflict that has hindered our collective aspirations for peace and development,” said Balaoro.

He urged residents to continue supporting the government’s initiatives and reiterated his call to the remaining members of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA to go back to the folds of the law, join the mainstream of society and avail themselves of the reintegration program of the government.

In 2019, the province of Laguna was the second to be declared under SIPS status, next to Cavite.

ROSELLE R. AQUINO