Colonel’s target: Wipe out insurgents by 2013

CATARMAN, Northern Samar—A top military officer here said his mission was to wipe out insurgents, though not necessarily insurgency, in the province by 2013.

Col. Oscar Lopez, head of the 803rd Infantry Brigade, said on Friday that his target for wiping out insurgents in the province was 2013 but that it would be better if he could do it earlier.

His main objective, according to Lopez, was rid the province of armed rebels and eventually make it “insurgent-free.”

“By insurgent-free, it means that there are no more armed groups. Insurgency-free is different because it means solving the root cause of the insurgency,” said the colonel.

He said he was optimistic that his goal was doable under the government’s new tack against insurgency, called “Oplan Bayanihan.”