By Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA
BACOLOD CITY — Officials and residents of Barangay Carol-an in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental will declare the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and its political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), as “persona non grata”.
It was agreed that a barangay resolution will be passed to formalize the declaration, during the town hall meeting held in the remote southern Negros village on Sunday, which was facilitated by the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion.
Village head Jocerel Paculanang said the communist rebels are no longer welcome in Barangay Carol-an.
“This is an ancestral domain and all of our residents want to live peacefully. We will never let the same fate happen again to anyone of us,” Paculanang said in the local dialect, during the gathering attended by about 600 village residents.
Last January 29, NPA rebels gunned down former village watchman Cornelio Morales in Sitio Camandag, in front of his daughter and their neighbors.
This prompted residents of the 27 sitios (sub-villages) in Barangay Carol-an to condemn the presence and the atrocities of the CPP-NPA in their community.
“Hand in hand, we will work together for peace. Do not enter again to our barangay”, Paculanang added.
During the activity, Army troopers gave lectures while former rebels gave testimonies.
Those who attended also took an oath of allegiance before Lt. Col. Egberto Dacoscos, commanding officer of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, manifesting their continuous loyalty to the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and withdrawing support to the CPP-NPA-NDF.
The United States and European Union have declared the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group.
