President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits the troops in Agusan del Sur on February 16, 2024. Photo from the Presidential Communications Office
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said he hoped for the Caraga region to be cleared of terrorist threats by the end of 2024.
He said this during his visit to the troops of the Army’s 401st Infantry Division, one of several events he attended in Agusan del Sur.
“Mukha naman maganda ang progress dito. In fact, there is a projection by the planning that siguro by the end of the year, hopefully the target is by the end of the year, masasabi natin na cleared na talaga ang inyong area. That is a good progress,” Marcos told the troops.
(The progress looks good here. In fact, there is a projection by the planning that maybe by the end of the year, hopefully the target is by the end of the year, we could say that the area is cleared.)
Marcos then congratulated the troops, who had to lead the charge against the enemies.
READ: Marcos vows to develop Caraga amid flooding, landslides
Moreover, the President also asked the soldiers to support the government’s new approach to tackling internal conflict. Marcos encouraged the soldiers to become peacemakers while continuing to fight groups that threaten peace and democracy.
Joint Task Force Diamond
The 401st Infantry Division is included in the Joint Task Force (JTF) Diamond, which is tasked with covering the Caraga region. Other troops in the taskforce are the 402nd, 403rd, and 901st Infantry Brigades.
The Palace said that the JTF Diamond has been able to neutralize 200 insurgents.
“There is a reported downtrend in the presence of insurgents in the JTF Diamond’s area of operation, from 437 rebels in the first quarter of 2023, decreasing by 28.6 percent to 312 as of February 15, 2024,” said the Presidential Communications Office.
Marcos’ visit to the southern troops comes amid calls for an independent Mindanao, notably initiated by former President Rodrigo Duterte. However, Marcos previously stated that such calls were doomed to fail.
READ: Marcos: Calls for separate Mindanao ‘doomed to fail’