AFP, PNP sending more men vs. reds

Bishop Teofilo Camomot had been people’s favorite wherever he was assigned. He cared about people and, in return, people wanted him to be around for them. The bishop’s amiable approach and compassion towards the poor drew adulation from the religious and lay people.

One of his close friends, Msgr. Jose B. Buenaflor of La Paz, Iloilo, recalls Bishop Camomot with unmistakable reverence: “He was very obedient to his superior [during his stay as auxiliary bishop in the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral]. He always obeyed whatever was the decision of Archbishop Cuenco.”

“He was a saintly man – devoted to prayer, to meditation, to conversion. [He was] a serious person, even while mingling with other priests... He was very charitable. Every time the poor went to him, he gave with all his heart. He was very charitable especially with priests; he used to say that priests should be helped. [He] was very firm in all his trials as a religious that he remained unshaken. There was no pride from his mouth when he talked and he was not a show-off.”

But admiration was not everything Bishop Camomot got. He had also been given a cold shoulder. And he got it in a most unlikely place.

On June 10, 1958, the Cebuano prelate was transferred from the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral to the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, in northern Mindanao. At the time, the archbishop there was already 70 years old. Bishop Camomot was appointed coadjutor archbishop with the right to succeed Most Rev. James Hayes, SJ.

Along with the appointment, Camomot was given the designation “TitularArchbishop of Marcianopolis.” He became the first and lone Filipino to hold such title which has been passed on since 1678.

But it seemed that the now Archbishop Teofilo Camomot was not welcome in his new assignment. Despite his appointment as coadjutor archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, Archbishop Camo- mot was treated rather coldly there. His nephew, Fr. Oscar Camomot, who spent some time with him in Cagayan de Oro, narrated how his uncle was spurned by Archbishop Hayes and some members of the clergy in the archdiocese:

“[One time] Archbishop Hayes called us for a meeting. I thought [my uncle deserved some respect as he] was a coadjutor archbishop with the right of succession… [But] when we arrived, we were not entertained. We were just made to stay downstairs. I asked [my uncle] if he would allow me to go upstairs and be the one to talk first to Archbishop Hayes. He said ‘No.’I would have wanted to ask Archbishop Hayes why such was his treatment to a coadjutor archbishop.”

The cold treatment did not end with Archibishop Hayes. “The priests there, especially the educated ones from San Jose, did not give him that kind of treatment which he very much deserved,” Fr. Oscar said. And he had a suspicion:

“I think it was because of Tiyo Lolong’s reputation of being very generous, and that the Jesuits had plenty of possessions at the time. Perhaps, they were apprehensive that the diocese would be depleted of its properties because Tiyo Lolong would give those to the poor.”

More personnel from the joint regional forces of the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines are set to be sent to Negros Oriental to ensure further security.

Yesterday morning, the Police Regional Office-7 and the AFP signed a Memorandum of Agreement in conducting joint operations in relation to Memorandum Order 32 (MO 32) held in Camp Sergio Osmeña of the PRO-7.

According to PRO-7 director, Chief Superintendent Debold Sinas, the primary target for the PRO-7 based on their assessment is Negros Oriental, in particular the first district that encompasses two cities and seven municipalities.

However, he added that the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, and Siquijor were still given special concern by both the AFP and the PNP.

In accordance with MO 32, troops are to be deployed to some areas in the country by the orders of President Rodrigo Duterte. Sinas said that they will be placing more personnel in Negros Oriental to resolve the insurgency of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front.

“This is also in line with MO 32; placing more personnel sa Negros Oriental to have a whole government approach to resolve the CPP/NPA/NDF problem.” said Sinas

With the joint planning between the AFP and PNP, Sinas hopes that there will be no more misencounters of their operating units in Negros.

"Hopefully, with this joint planning, we'll be able to prevent nga wala nay mahitabo nga misencounter among operating units didto," he said.

He added that they will make use of joint planning and executions like doing patrols and raids to make operations more efficient.

They have also established a structure for whoever will be the ground commander in case of major military and police operations in the area.

On the part of the military, Major General Dinoh Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army, said that they are thankful that there is a joint effort to resolve the problem that has been around for a long time and added that they needed the full support of the PNP.

"On the part of the military, we are fortunate that there are joint efforts. We have accepted the fact that we cannot do it alone - we need the full support of the Philippine National Police if we want to end this long, big, problem of our country," Dolina said.

He added that joint operations often have more success and if this was to be done in all parts of the country, there will be a bigger probability to degrade the capabilities of the CPP/NPA/NDF by the end of the next year.

Sinas also said that the joint planning will be continuous and won't only be for the Christmas time, elections, and other major activities.

"The end objective of this is at least to neutralize or eliminate the long war natin against the CPP/NPA/NDF," said Sinas.