Military aims to make Negros Or. ‘rebel-free’

THE military and Police in Central Visayas will focus their anti-insurgency campaign in Negros Oriental, Bohol, Cebu and Leyte.

Lt. General Ralph Villanueva, Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command chief, said that Cebu and Bohol had been declared insurgent-free and they were assessing rebels’ claims of the presence of rebels in Bohol.

“Bohol and Cebu is insurgent-free. We are always ready to address if we have threats coming from the area. We are jointly assessing the information.” said Villanueva during the  Joint Peace and Security Coordinating meeting of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) last Thursday.

He also assessed that the level of insurgency in Negros Oriental had lessened.

“We need to make sure that the area is secure and manageable just like Bohol and Cebu. We hope that we can declare Negros Oriental as “insurgent-free” and we want to make sure that we will address the root causes of insurgency. We need to make sure na wala nang nagrerebelde sa area.” he said.

“The peace and order council is on top of the situation. The tourists won’t be alarmed with the help of the police,” he said./Correspondents Rhea V. Rosell and Gabriel C. Bonjoc