President Duterte strongly wants to end the armed conflict between the government forces and the communist rebels here and says, “Finish off the CTG” as soon as possible. Duterte refers to the communist terrorilst group when he said “CTG” in his stern order.
This was the stance of the president as he presided over the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting inside the campus of Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on May 24, 2021, according to the information shared to The Bohol Tribune by Gov. Arthur Yap via a text message last night, May 29, 2021.
Yap and Dauis Mayor and President of the League of Municipalities-Bohol Chapter, Marietta Sumaylo were the members of the Bohol delegation who attended the said meeting.
Sumaylo was the only Bohol mayor who attended the said meeting in her capacity as President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)-Bohol chapter (see related story on page 21).
The insurgency problem was the top issue discussed in the meeting, according to Sumaylo.
A day after the President ordered a stronger resolve to obliterate the CTG, particularly the New People’s Army (NPA), the military here in Bohol was able to score a scintillating victory, based on the military’s account about the skirmish in Bilar town. According to reports, It was in this town, particularly in barangay Cabacnitan, where the military was able to kill 5 suspected NPA rebels.
The 5 suspected members of the NPA were killed in a firefight with troops from the 47th Infantry Battalion (IB). One Philippine soldier was wounded in the said encounter, the same report revealed as released by the Bohol Police Provincial Office released on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.
PRONOUNCEMENTS
During the RPOC meeting, the President made it clear that there would be no power sharing with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing (the NPA), Yap said.
“There will be no power sharing with the CPP-NPA,” the president told the participants of the said meeting.
Along this line,Yap bared that the President said there will be no concessions that will be given to CTGs.
“I want you to finish this fight before my term ends,” the President was heard ordering those who were in attendance in the said meeting.
Days prior to the meeting, reporrs said that the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) tagged several persons as “terrorists” including the founder of the CPP. The declaration was made on May 13, 2021.
The same reports bared that the council named Jose Maria Sison, founder of the CPP, and his wife Julieta as “terrorists”. The same council also included in the list of terrorists, National Democratic Front (NDF) consultants Benito Tiamzon, Wilma Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Vicente Ladlad, among others, all of whom are alleged members of the CPP’s central committee.
Allegedly, the personalities tagged as terrorists violated the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), according to a resolution by the ATC.
BOHOL SITUATION
According to Major General Eric Vinoya, the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army (PA), Bohol remains to be insurgency-free despite the sporadic criminal and terroristic activities of the CPP-NPA here.
Bohol, according to Vinoya, is classified under “low threat” as there is no barangay in the province that is directly under the control of the CTGs. By control it means that rebels’ activities are already hampering the delivery of government services.
In fact, during an interview over Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa radio program, aired on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 and hosted by The Bohol Tribune’s managing editor Ardy Araneta-Batoy and associate editor Dave Albarado, Yap bared that the provincial government has already conducted close to 50
Health, Education, Agriculture, Rural Transformation and Tourism (HEART) caravans in various remote areas in the province.
The HEART caravans are aimed to bring government services closer to the masses, the governor added.
Yap in a text message to The Bohol Tribune last night, said people should not think that Bohol is under the threat of the CTG just because of the presence of communist rebels.
The governor added that the military’s victory in Bilar only shows that Bohol has the capacity to repel any threats coming from the CTG and to maintain the peace and order here.
THE ENCOUNTER STORY
Elements of the 47th IB engaged in a firefight with 11 suspected members of the NPA on May 25, 2021 at barangay Cabacnitan, according to police reports.
Police identified the fatalities from the rebel’s side as Romeo Nabas, Joseph Bautista, Marvin Terig, Junrey Bucar and Edionela Nuera.
The spokesperson of the 47th IB, 1Lt. Elma Grace Remonde bared that the bodies of the rebels who died in the encounter were turned over to their respective families.