• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army in the Visayas region is on its way becoming irrelevant, as a total of 8,895 Local Government Units (LGUs) have declared the terrorist group “persona non grata” within their respective political jurisdictions.
This was disclosed following the conduct of the Civil-Military Operations Coordinating Conference (CMOCC) by the Visayas Command (VISCOM) which was participated by all the AFP units in the Visayas region.
The declaration of persona non grata means that the CPP–NPA is unwelcome or prohibited to enter in their jurisdiction. It is considered to be the most damning censure a locality can impose on a person or organization.
The 8,895 LGUs are comprised of 13 provinces, 39 cities, 364 municipalities, and 8,479 barangays. The continuous increase of localities which denounced and declared the CPP–NPA as persona non grata is attributed to the sustained community engagement and continued implementation of the Barangay Development Program in the region, according to VISCOM chief Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo.
During the conference, it was also disclosed that a total of 296 projects and programs under the Support to the Barangay Development Program (SBDP) have been implemented throughout the Visayas region, while another 418 projects and programs are currently being implemented.
“This huge development can be considered as another major blow against the CPP-NPA. This will definitely have an adverse effect on the terrorist group’s resource generation, which is essential for our efforts in neutralizing their support system”, Arevalo said.
He added that “These denouncements and mass declaration in the Visayas region is a clear manifestation that our people are already fed up with the deception, treachery, and cruelty of the CPP-NPA. This will serve as a motivation for us to further boost our efforts to push the CPP-NPA on the brink of irreversible collapse.”
The CPP-NPA, through their affiliated progressive groups recently accused the AFP of harassment and perpetrating the killing of four members of a family in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
The accusation was strongly denied by the PNP in a press briefing last week in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, as their initial investigation showed that it was the CPP-NPA who perpetrated the massacre, based on the accounts and testimonies of several witnesses who even identified one of the perpetrators who stormed into the house of the victims.
The Himamaylan police established that the leader of 15 armed men involved in the massacre, was identified as Fernando Hermino, the father-in-law of Emily Fausto Hermino, the lone surviving family member.* with PNA report
