By Jennifer P. Rendon
Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division fearless forecast: end insurgency by 2021 in Central and Western Visayas.
By ending insurgency, the Army unit meant that the government would be able to clear the remaining rebel-influenced barangays in its areas of responsibility.
“We must also be able to reduce the New People’s Army’s guerrilla fronts to a negligible level,” Major Cenon Pancito III, 3rd ID spokesperson, said.
He explained that reducing the NPA’s number to a negligible level does not mean that there would be no more NPA members.
“It only means that their number will be down to an extent that they could no longer launch atrocities,” Pancito said.
Pancito said their target is to clear the remaining rebel-influenced barangays by the second quarter of the year.
Currently, Iloilo province has the most number of rebel-influenced villages at 41 while Negros Occidental has 18 and Negros Oriental and Capiz have two remaining barangays left to be cleared.
In 2020, the 3rd ID said 91 barangays were declared cleared of insurgency, 42 of which are in Negros Oriental; 34 in Negros Occidental; 11 in Iloilo; and four in Capiz.
Pancito said on Friday that the 3rd ID is winning in its campaign.
“We have successfully achieved our objects as shown on the data. Our achievements are even beyond our targets,” he said.
Given the circumstances, Pancito said the 3ID shall maintain its momentum to effectively dismantle the remaining guerilla fronts, pursue some more red fighters and clear the remaining CTG (communist terrorist group)-influenced barangays.
“Our tools and tactics such that of the community support program and relentless pursuit operations have proven effective as government troops attain the upper hand in our fight with the insurgents,” he said.
Pancito said that government forces have now dictated the tempo as evidenced by the fact that most of the encounters were government-initiated upon the receipt of reliable information from the populace themselves.
“Gone are the days that the NPAs are so bold of raiding a police station. Gone are the days that they are capable of harassing the Army’s camps and detachment. This is the reality now. Their actions are mere show off that cannot adhere even to the directives of their national leadership to conduct atrocities,” he said.
Citing “decay in the NPA ranks,” the rebel group is on the loose as manifested by the series of surrenders after realizing that the CPP NPA has not brought them to anything good but to destruction and perdition, he said.
He also claimed that the 3rd ID is more than confident to claim that the end is near for these terrorists.
