PAGADIAN CITY—Local legislators of Zamboanga del Sur had declared the province insurgency-free.
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, commander of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, said the declaration meant the province is now “ready for further development.”
Herrera said the declaration may have had basis as the Army had already dismantled two units of New People’s Army (NPA) operating in the province.
He said there are now just eight NPA fighters in Zamboanga del Sur.
“They now hide like criminals, hiding with no more leaders and no more organizations,” Herrera said.
The NPA’s regional urban committee was also dismantled, further weakening the rebels’ support structure, the Army official said.
But despite these gains, Herrera said the military, local leaders and people “should not be complacent as it has been a practice of the CPP-NPA to continually recruit in vulnerable sectors particularly in the hinterlands.”