THE military has vowed to prevent the resurgence of the communist rebels after several units of the armed group were dismantled, including those in the jurisdiction of Eastern Mindanao.
In a statement, Col. Medel Aguilar, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, urged the people to help the military sustain its gains in the fight against the armed revolutionary movement.
Aguilar also cited the case of the Davao Region which the Eastern Mindanao Command earlier identified as insurgency free based on a resolution of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), composed local government units, national government agencies and the private sector.
Aguilar called the move a “victory of the” residents even as he urged that the action to isolate the rebels be sustained to prevent them from regrouping.
“We thank all the stakeholders, especially the local chief executives and civil society organizations whose hard work and compassion for the people of Region 11 led to this milestone in our quest for just and lasting peace in the whole country,” Aguilar said, adding that the military is “confident that we can sustain this achievement and replicate it in other regions and finally give all Filipinos their much-deserved peace and prosperity.”
During the RPOC 11 meeting, Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, Eastern Mindanao Command chief, said the rebel group has just about five units in its area of responsibility and “it is only a matter of time until we dismantle these remaining CTG (communist terrorist group) and finally declare the whole of Eastern Mindanao as insurgency-free.”
Almerol said the rebels only have four remaining fronts operating in the boundaries of North Cotabato and Bukidnon, and that 27 of the 32 fronts in Northern Mindanao and Caraga region were also dismantled.
It was during that meeting, held on October 12, when the council declared Davao Region insurgency-free based on the presentation of the security situation of Major Gen. Nolasco Mempin, 10th Infantry Division commander.
“We successfully wiped out the presence of the CTG in its affected barangays and crumbled all 16 Guerilla Fronts in the Region under the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) and Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR) since we implemented Executive Order No. 70 in 2018,” Almerol said, as he thanked other groups within the council for their cooperation.
