Army to reassign troops from Cebu to Negros

THE Central Command (Centcom) will soon withdraw its troops from Cebu after the province is declared insurgency free.

Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, Centcom public information officer, revealed this yesterday during a Philippine Information Agency (PIA) forum.

“We will consult the local government units and make a joint task force for Region 7,” Tampus said, adding that the Capitol and other government agencies will also be consulted on the plan.

The joint task force, composed of the army, the navy and the Philippine National Police, will take over the 78th Infantry Batallion during the “transitional pullout.”

The soldiers from Cebu will be assigned to other provinces in the Visayas that have ongoing insurgency problems like Negros and Samar.

Even with an insurgency-free Cebu, Tampus said they would keep the presence of the task force in Cebu to maintain peace and order.

“Cebu is the center of tourism and investments in Central Visayas. It should be peaceful and secured,” he said. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya