ILOILO City – The village of Pandanan in Lauan town, Antique has declared the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) persona non grata.
Captain Cenon Pancito III, Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division’s Public Affairs Office chief, said that Pandanan is the first village in the province to declare the communist rebels unwelcome in their locality.
“Pandanan is categorized as one of the inner villages in Lauaun and considered an NPA-infested village,” Pancito said in a press conference at Camp Delgado in Fort San Pedro here last week.
In a resolution signed by Pandanan village chief Jerry Bucio, the village official noted that Executive Order 70 has institutionalized the “whole-of-nation” approach to addressing the root causes of insurgencies and facilitates and ensures the active participation of all sectors of society in the pursuit of the country’s peace agenda.
Pandanan village has cited its growing socio-economic development that had been affected by activities of the CPP-NPA.
The resolution also highlighted that in order to ensure the comprehensive orchestration of related peace efforts and initiatives in the multisectoral campaign against insurgency; the village council is giving its support to the unified condemnation of the CPP-NPA.
Pancito noted that two towns in Iloilo province were first to make a move to reject the presence of the terrorists.
“We continue to call for the rest of the villages and local government units not just in Antique but in Panay to likewise do the same, to denounce the armed struggle or the armed movement and cooperate with the government,” he said, adding that this effort from villages and towns can lead to the progress and development of the localities.
On Aug. 24, the Army-assisted village of Binulosan Grande in Calinog town, Iloilo passed the same resolution declaring CPP-NPA as persona non grata.
The town of Maasin in Iloilo also denounced the CPP-NPA’s presence on Aug. 8 and Janiuay town followed suit on Aug. 15.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (With a report from PNA/PN)
