Gwen: NPA no threat

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said  that a reported plan of the New People’s Army (NPA) to retake Cebu is “no cause for alarm” and that she had heard this before.

In her  news conference yesterday, Garcia said  the statement shows that  Cebu is no longer under rebel  influence.

In March 2010, Garcia declared Cebu province “insurgent-free.”

“We continue to make programs that make their cause irrelevant,” she said, citing infrastructure and service programs under her administration.

Garcia said  poverty still exists in the province, but that the problem can’t be solved overnight.

Last Sunday, Central Command spokesman  Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus said the military noticed movements and mobilizations, especially in Cebu’s 3rd district of midwest Cebu, through legal fronts of the Communist party.

This report was confirmed by 78th Infantry Battalion spokesman Captain Alberto Ramirez who said military troopers were fielded in six barangays in Toledo City for an  information campaign.

He said the military is monitoring possible rebel movements.