Rebel fronts in Negros ‘weakened’

All fronts of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Occidental are “weakened,” Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said today.

Lacson cited a Philippine Army report saying that there are 13 to 14 NPA fronts left all over the country.

“It has been weakened. It is not as strong as it was before. They will continue to show that they are active and give the impression that they are a force to reckon with,” the governor pointed out.

In the province, Lacson said there is still one front left based in the CHICKS area, or in Cauayan, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Candoni, Kabankalan City and Sipalay City covered by the 6th district.

But, it has been declared “weakened”, he said.

Lacson, chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, said that in Region 6 that out of the five or six rebel fronts, there are two fronts left, one in Negros and two in Panay but were declared as “weakened.”

“They are still there. But, the Army said they will not leave the areas where there are still rebel fronts,” he said.

In a video message posted on Facebook, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the military has neutralized 1,399 [members] of communist and local terrorist groups, and obtained 1,751 firearms, through capture, confiscation, and recovery or surrender.

The President attributed the gains in the campaign against armed threats to the vigorous operations of security forces and to the coordination among defense and intelligence agencies.

“Now, we can report that there are no more active NPA (New People’s Army) guerrilla fronts as of December 2023. We will continue to fight for this,” Marcos said.

“The performance of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is good. The performance of the police is good and the coordination of the SND (secretary of National Defense), the Department of National Defense and all our intelligence agencies is good. They are working together, that’s why our campaign against internal terrorism is a success,” he added.

The Marcos administration extended a total of P91.47 million to former rebels and surrenderees as financial assistance under its Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) package administered by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The DILG said in its year-end report that a total of 1,119 former rebels, consisting of 821 NPA fighters and 298 Militia ng Bayan (MB) members, received financial assistance as of the end of November 2023.

Among the various assistance under the DILG package include immediate assistance with 1,055 beneficiaries; livelihood assistance, 713 recipients; reintegration assistance, 1,074 beneficiaries; and remuneration to the 264 firearms they turned over to government forces.* (EYAdiong)