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[av_heading heading=’‘NO MORE REBELS BY END OF 2018’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY RUBY SILUBRICO
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JAMINDAN, Capiz – There will be no more rebels in Panay Island by the end of 2018, proclaimed the new commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division (3ID).
Brigadier General Dinoh Dolina set the new deadline to eradicate insurgency as he assumed the post during a turnover of command ceremony at Camp Macario Peralta Jr. on Dec. 29.
With President Rodrigo Duterte officially terminating the peace talks and declaring the New People’s Army (NPA) a terrorist organization, “we now have our marching orders to expedite the defeat of the communists by the end of 2018,” Dolina said.
Dolina replaced Major General Jon Aying, who retires today.
For a long time the Armed Forces believed the rebels “needed to be talked to more than crushed,” Dolina said.
The insurgents gave an impression that they “represent a broad sector of society” and that their unmet demands justified their “armed actions,” he said.
But these were “all propaganda and deceit” and they have been “committing this for the last 50 years,” Dolina told the audience comprising soldiers and police officers, Army and local government officials and representatives, and the press.
Duterte terminated the peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) via Proclamation No. 360 issued on Nov. 23.
The President also ordered the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the government peace panel to cancel meetings with the CPP.
The CPP “failed to show its sincerity and commitment in pursuing genuine and meaningful peace negotiations as it engaged in acts of violence and hostilities,” Duterte said in the proclamation.
Earlier this month, the President signed another proclamation officially declaring the CPP and its armed wing, the NPA, terrorist organizations.
The order allowed law enforcers, under the Human Security Act, to run after anyone supporting these groups.
Under the law, any person or entity is designated as terrorist if they finance terrorism or a terrorist group under an applicable resolution of the United Nations Security Council or jurisdiction or supranational jurisdiction, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque has explained.
National defense officials were supportive of the proclamations.
Major General Restituto Paidlla, Armed Forces spokesman, said they may now “fully execute and perform [our] mandate without reservation and restrictions.”
Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana, meanwhile, said the CPP and the NPA were “a blight to the Filipino people, with members engaging in constant criminal activities and wanton acts of terror.”
In November, the NPA carried out two successive ambushes against government forces – in Sibalom, Antique on Nov. 22 and in Maasin, Iloilo on Nov. 24.
The Sibalom offensive left four police officers wounded while that in Maasin resulted to the death of one officer and the wounding of 12 others.
The NPA also stormed the police station of Maasin, Iloilo on June 18 and immobilized nine police officers.
The rebels shanghaied M16 rifles, Glock .9mm pistols, handheld radios and their base, laptops, P29,000 cash, and jewelry within 15 minutes.
The rebels did not harm the nine police officers but handcuffed them. They also used the police station’s patrol car to flee.
To successfully defeat the rebels, the Philippine Army soldiers must have well-aligned objectives and a “clear direction on all the plans and programs that they shall execute,” said Dolina.
Moreover, they must be guided by existing policies and “strictly follow all processes and procedures in the management of their command resources,” he said.
Dolina also pushed for continuous training for 3ID personnel “to gain more knowledge and develop our skills.”
Prior to his present designation, Dolina was an assistant division commander at the 3ID and the chief of the Armed Forces’ Office of Legislative Affairs./PN
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