• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday said that he will seek the guidance of the Department of Interior and Local Government, on the relinquishment of his position as chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council of Western Visayas.
Negros Occidental is now under the newly created Negros Island Region (NIR). With NIR, I can’t be RPOC chairman of Region 6, Lacson said.
Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez were both designated by Malacañang as chairpersons of the RPOC Western Visayas and Regional Development Council 6, respectively.
Lacson, who presided over the closed door meeting of RPOC 6 at Negros Residences in Bacolod City, said that the Philippine Army has recommended that Panay be placed under the status of Stable Internal Peace and Security, following neutralization of key rebel leaders in Panay and dismantling of rebel guerilla fronts.
The Regional Task Force – ELCAC (Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict) 6 has endorsed the declaration of Negros Island Region (NIR) in a status of Stable Internal Peace and Security, as recommended by the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
Negros Island was already placed under SIPS status, following the dismantling of five NPA guerilla fronts, including neutralization of its key leaders who were either killed or captured in gun battles or law enforcement operations, its mass-based organizations, and the clearing of all insurgency-affected barangays.
An area with a SIPS status means that it is considered cleared and unaffected by communist insurgents, and is relatively peaceful.
Lacson said there still is no date as to when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will declare Negros Occidental as a SIPS zone.*
