DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental — A Philippine Army official has described the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros Island as a potential force to reckon with during the upcoming synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14.
Lt. Col. Darrell Bañez, commander of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, made the pronouncement Wednesday afternoon during an interview with the media following a coordinating meeting in the morning with members of the Diocesan Electoral Board in Dumaguete City.
Bañez said the CPP-NPA could be fielding their own candidates during the barangay and SK polls.
“We’re looking particularly in (CPP-NPA) affected barangays as they might be fielding their own candidates to have permanent control in the barangays,” he said.
According to him, all the areas declared as election watchlist areas (EWAS) are affected by insurgency.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced on Wednesday that there are 73 barangays in 17 towns and cities in Negros Oriental that are included in the EWAS.
Majority of these are in the first and second districts of Negros Oriental and form part of the area of coverage of the 62nd IB.
Guihulngan City in northern Negros Oriental has the highest number with 20 barangays declared as EWAS.
Bañez said that many of the residents in Guihulngan City are “sympathizers” of the CPP-NPA.
Meanwhile, Col. Inocencio Pasaporte, deputy commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine in Negros Island also admitted that the CPP-NPA poses a bigger threat to the security in Negros Island, especially during the upcoming barangay and SK elections.
“They are distributed in different areas in the island and based on that, we have sent troops to these areas and we tied up with the PNP for this coming election,” Pasaporte said.
“We have created Task Group Halalan to ensure peaceful and orderly elections,” he said.
Pasaporte, however, said that right now there is no specific threat from the CPP-NPA as the Philippine Army is continuing with their combat operations.
The Komiteng Rehiyon Negros (KRN) of the CPP-NPA is believed to be eyeing a so-called guerilla zone expansion area in central Negros Oriental, dubbed as BATMANAY, but this was neutralized following the arrest of six people, including a young woman, during an encounter in the town of Mabinay.
BATMANAY is an acronym for the municipalities of Bindoy, Ayungon, Tayasan, Manjuyod, and Mabinay. (PNA)
