ILOILO City – The Iloilo City Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (JPSCC), through a resolution, officially recommended the declaration of this southern city as “insurgency-free.”
The resolution is an offshoot of the recent meeting of the JPSCC at the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO). It was agreed that there were no more recorded New People’s Army (NPA)-initiated violent Incidents (NIVIS), no more non-violent urban activities monitored as perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA, and no more existing CPP-NPA formation within the city since 2018.
The JPSCC is composed of the ICPO, Philippine Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade (301st IB), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Iloilo.
“Based on the report by the Iloilo City Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center (JPSCC), Iloilo City remains free from the threat of the CPP-NPA,” read part of the resolution signed by ICPO director Colonel Joeresty Coronica, PCG-Iloilo station commander Paterno Belarmino Jr. and 301st IB commander Brigadier General Michael G. Samson.
To note, as part of the anti-insurgency efforts, the Iloilo City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) and Iloilo City Development Council (ICDC), in a joint meeting on Dec. 5, 2019, passed three anti-insurgency resolutions.
These included Resolution No. 01-2019 or “A Joint Resolution Creating the City Task Force (CTF) on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC)”, Resolution No. 02-2019 or “A Resolution Strongly Denouncing the Atrocities and Acts of Violence Being Perpetrated by Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGS) in the Different Areas in the Country and not to Allow their Presence by Declaring the CPP-NPA as Persona Non Grata in the City of Iloilo”, and Resolution No. 03 CY 2019 or “Resolution Recommending to the Sangguniang Panlungsod the Passage of a Resolution adopting Resolution No. 02-2019.”
JPSCC believes there is a need for joint and rigorous efforts by the police, military and civilian residents to deter terrorism, insurgency, and highly organized crimes in the metropolis.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas welcomed the law enforcers’ recommendation.
“It means we can focus on the development of the city so that we can provide more employment and improve the quality of life of our people,” he said./PN
