New AFP chief in Central Visayas asks NPA rebels to surrender

Maj. General Roberto Ancan, new Armed Forces Central Command chief, warns the communist rebels to surrender or face the full-force of the government. Photo by Dale Israel, Inquirer Visayas

Updated @ 11:53 p.m., Nov. 3, 2019

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — “Go back to the folds of the law and surrender your firearms or I will fight you back and bomb you.”

The new commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (Centcom) has issued this warning to communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the Visayas.

“If you want to fight, then we are enemies. I have many soldiers. I have cannons. I have aircraft. I will bomb you,” Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan said during the turnover of command at Camp Lapu-Lapu here on Thursday.

Ancan, a native of Victorias town, Negros Occidental province, said he would not hesitate to use force in ending the decades-old communist insurgency in some parts of the Visayas.

But he said he would also organize localized peace initiatives or peace talks with the help of local government units in insurgency-affected areas.

Before his assignment in Centcom, Ancan, a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Hinirang” Class of 1987, was commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Tabak, Zamboanga Del Sur. He replaced Gen. Noel Clement, who was appointed AFP chief of staff last month.

Vigilant

Clement, who was present during the turnover of command, said the military would remain vigilant, especially on possible attacks after the death of Islamic State (IS) international terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“We are exerting efforts to stop these [attacks] from happening,” Clement said.

The attack on Marawi City in 2017 was considered an IS-led effort in establishing a caliphate in Mindanao.

Clement said he wanted Ancan to continue his efforts in preventing terroristic activities from spilling into the Visayas, considered a primary tourism hub.

341 rebels surrender

In Lucena City, at least 341 NPA rebels in Southern Tagalog have surrendered to the military since January.

Of the number, 122 have received financial assistance under the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-Clip), said Capt. Jayrald Ternio, spokesperson of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal.

The rebel returnees were from the provinces of Quezon (64); Laguna (43); Batangas (29); Rizal (eight); Occidental Mindoro (175); and Oriental Mindoro (22). Ternio also said 219 former rebels were undergoing surrender proceedings that included profiling by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to qualify them for the E-Clip. —With a report from Delfin Mallari Jr.

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