• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A state of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) has been declared in Negros Occidental by the Provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council (JPSCC).
The joint recommendation to declare Negros Occidental in a state of SIPS was made by the JPSCC, which is composed of the Philippine Army, National Police, and Coast Guard, during its meeting held at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City.
Under the SIPS stage, the province is categorized as cleared, unaffected, and is relatively peaceful, said Maj. Mervin Rosal, 303rd Infantry Brigade Civil Military Operations chief.
“The LGU and PNP acknowledges and accepts that only Law Enforcement Operations (LEOs) are needed, and will signify that the province is already normalized, Rosal added.
The PNP, in its lead role to LEOs, performs its normal police functions and conducts purely law enforcement activities, while the AFP, in its support role to LEOs, primarily performs normal military functions, he explained.
Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3rd Infantry Division commander, commended the JPSCC for its efforts in achieving the resolution marking the SIPS declaration in Negros Occidental.
As we aim to declare Negros in a state of SIPS, the support, collaboration, and commitment reflects a significant initiative towards ensuring peace and stability.
The three NPA guerilla fronts in northern and central Negros in areas of operations of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, and two other guerilla fronts in southern Negros, which is under the jurisdiction of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, have been declared as dismantled by the Philippine Army.
With this joint recommendation by the JPSCC, Col. Victor Llapitan, deputy commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, said “we have achieved a very important milestone in our quest for attaining peace in Negros Occidental.”
Llapitan attributed it to the collaborative efforts between the local government units, Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Police, Philippine Coast Guard and other stakeholders for peace.
The joint declaration of JPSCC will be forwarded to the Provincial Peace and Order Council of Negros Occidental, and to the Regional Peace and Order Council Western Visayas, for concurrence.
However, declaring a state of SIPS does not mean we are insurgency-free, there are still remnants who will be the subject of relentless focused military operations, on Monday disclosed Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, AFP Visayas Command chief, during his exit visit to the 303rd Infantry Brigade headquarters in Murcia, Negros Occidental, where he used to serve as the brigade commander.
Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, disclosed that there are still about 33 NPA combatants with 49 firearms in their possession, from their peak of 258 in 2019.
Visayas Command chief Lt. Gen. Gen. Benedict Arevalo disclosed on Monday that the Army soldiers will remain in Negros Island, although he is leaving the discretion for realignment with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.*
