ILOILO – The municipality of Alimodian has no insurgency problem, snapped Mayor Geefre “Kalay” Alonsabe.
He was reacting to reports that Alimodian and five other towns with such problem have been ordered by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to create municipal task forces to end the local communist armed conflict in their respective turfs.
“I don’t believe there are lots of NPA rebels in my town. I visit far-flung barangays alone, there is no such feedback from the people,” said Alonsabe.
Alimodian may have been mistakenly perceived to have an insurgency problem because its neighboring towns have such problem, according to the mayor.
“In my understanding, Alimodian is just a passageway of rebels going to the municipalities of Tubungan, Miag-ao, Maasin, Janiuay, and Calinog,” said Alonsabe.
The mayor clarified, however, that he welcomed the presence of the Philippine Army in Alimodian as it could ensure peace and order in his municipality.
The Philippine Army recently reported that 13 barangays in Iloilo province have insurgency problems and these villages were in Alimodian (one), Maasin (one), Tubungan (one), Janiuay (two), and Lambunao (two).
Alimodian is a third-class municipality. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 38,408 people.
Alimodian has a total land area of 14,482 hectares, making up 2.89 percent of the provincial land area of Iloilo. It has some rugged terrains as well as ample flat lands for agriculture.
Mountain range which serves as a natural boundary with other towns is located in the northern hinterlands of Alimodian.
The town also boasts of producing bananas, corne, mangoes, root crops, sweet potatoes, legumes, bamboo, coconuts, as well as high yielding crops such as carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and strawberries.
Alimodian is 39 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City./PN
