BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental police chief Colonel Romeo Baleros has assured tribal leaders and members of various indigenous peoples (IPs) in the province that they are protected from atrocities of the communist rebels.
Baleros said that IPs living in far flung areas are considered vulnerable to the New People’s Army (NPA).
NPA insurgents, according to Baleros, are actively targeting IPs for recruitment as they do not have real awareness on the rebel group.
He vowed to eradicate this exploitation through a covenant signing for E.O. No. 19 s. 2019 Indigenous People-Provincial Inter Agency Committee in Talisay City, Negros Occidental on Aug. 27. The agreement aims to establish mechanisms to ensure efficient delivery of services to the IPs.
“We want our IP brothers and sisters to feel the presence of the government and that they are secured and protected,” Baleros said./PN
