CPRO-3 director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon given arrival honors at Fort Magsaysay. Contributed photo
FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, Palayan City – Top ranking military and police officials tackled here on Thursday an intensified drive against insurgency and terrorism in the region.
Police Regional Office 3 director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon and Major Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., commander of Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division, vowed stepped-up cooperation “to put an end to the local insurgency.”
“Kailangan ng masinsinang pagpaplano at epektibong implementasyon ng mga programa laban sa insurhensiya para tuluyan nang matuldukan ang pananakot ng CPP-NPA,” Rosario Jr. said.
“Sa pamamagitan ng E-CLIP at mga aktibidad ng TF-ELCAC ay nahihimok nating magbalik-loob ang mga kapatid nating namundok at matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayang hirap ang kalagayan,” he added.
E-CLIP refers to Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program that gives financial aid and livelihood trainings to rebel surrenderers, to ensure that they will be productive before they reintegrate into mainstream society.
With President Duterte’s approval of Executive Order No. 70 on Ending the Local Communist Armed Conflict through a “whole-of-nation” approach, a Task Force ELCAC (TF-ELCAC) was created from the national level down to regional, provincial, municipal, and barangay levels. The task force included among its members the government agencies and local government units, along with a representative of different sectors of the community.
The Army reported that through the help of PNP counterparts and TF-ELCAC, the 7ID had 875 surrenderers, with 430 of them having already received benefits from E-CLIP, the rest are still under process.
The officials expressed hope that through the continued collaboration between PRO3, 7ID, and other local government units, the decades-long threat of NPA rebels in the region will soon come to an end.
