Rebels in Negros have ‘weakened’
BACOLOD City – Guerilla fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Island have “weakened.”
This was Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson’s statement yesterday morning in response to the report released by the Philippine Army, stating that there are only 13 to 14 NPA fronts left nationwide.
According to the governor, the NPA in Negros is no longer as strong as before.
But Lacson expects that the rebels will continue to show that they are active to give the impression that they are still a force to be reckoned with.
The governor, who also chairs the Regional Peace and Order Council, said that only two remain of the five or six rebel fronts in Western Visayas. One is in Negros, and the other is in Panay Island.
“They are still there. But the Army said they will not leave the areas where there are still rebel fronts,” Lacson said.
In Negros Occidental, the NPA front left is based on the CHICKS (Cauayan-Hinoba-an, Ilog, Candoni, Kabankalan City, and Sipalay City) area covered by the 6th district of the province. Although it is also already in a weakened state, Lacson noted.
Earlier over the weekend, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the military neutralized 1,399 insurgents from communist and local terrorist groups.
Government forces have also obtained 1,751 firearms from the rebels through capture, confiscation, and recovery or surrender.
Marcos credited the success in combating armed threats to the robust operations of security forces and the effective coordination among defense and intelligence agencies. ( Watchmen Daily Journal)/