Albay town declares CPP-NPA ‘persona non grata’

LEGAZPI CITY –– The Sangguniang Bayan of Polangui town in Albay province has declared the Communist Party of the Philippine-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and its front groups and affiliates “persona non grata.”

The eight members of the town legislative council presided by Vice Mayor Restituto Fernandez passed Resolution Number 217 unanimously.

The resolution, labeling the CPP-NPA persona non-grata, was due to the movement’s continuous harassment and attacks against military and police personnel, civilians as well as public and private structures.

The town legislative council claims that “despite the sincere effort of the government to reach out and make peace with the CPP-NPA, the movement has continued to advocate the use of force to destabilize and topple the government without regard to the interest of the people.”

The council believes that the presence of the CPP-NPA in the municipality would serve as a hindrance to peace and development.

The resolution, authored by town councilor Vicente Jose Gerard Jaucian, was passed on Sept. 30 this year and released to the media on Thursday.

Polangui, a first-class town in Albay, is the first town in the province that declared the CPP-NPA “persona non-grata.”/lzb