LIMASAWA, SOUTHERN LEYTE -- A military official vowed to block rebels’ efforts to retake insurgent-free Visayas provinces as they shift their thrust to implementation of development projects from counter-insurgency efforts.
Col. John S. Bonafos, commander of 802nd brigade of the Philippine Army based in Camp Downes, Ormoc City, said they are stepping up efforts to coordinate with local government units and other government agencies in undertaking development projects.
"We will continue our support operations particularly in the development aspects needed by people. After we have attained peace, we will move to development phase like construction of classrooms, road repair and road widening," Mr. Bonafos toldBusinessWorld.
The brigade covers the insurgent-free provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran. It is the only Philippine Army headquarters in the entire country with all covered areas officially declared as rebel-cleared.
Among the five provinces, Biliran was the first to gain the insurgent-free status as jointly declared by the army and local government unit in December 2008. Cebu and Bohol were declared free of rebel activities in March 2010 while Southern Leyte and Leyte attained the same status in September 2011 and December 2011, respectively.
"The situation of these Visayas provinces exemplifies that we can attain the insurgent-free status through multi-stakeholders participation," Mr. Bonafos said.
For insurgent-free areas, the military turned over the lead role in maintaining the internal security to its local executives and police.
A province is categorized as insurgency-free when the threat posed by the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) is successfully downgraded into a mere law and order problem. -- Sarwell Q. Meniano
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