By Priam Nepomuceno/PNA
MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has lauded the municipal government of Sibagat in Agusan del Sur province for declaring members of the New People’s Army (NPA) as “persona non grata”.
“On behalf of the soldiers who on a day-to-day basis risk their lives for the peace and security of the country, I thank and laud the local officials of Sibagat, Agusan del Sur for standing up against the NPA,” AFP Chief, Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, said in a statement released late Monday.
“We hope that more LGUs (local government units) will finally recognize the need to take similar actions against the NPA and its front organizations and join the whole of (the) nation approach to completely annihilate the communist armed conflict,” Madrigal added.
In Municipal Resolution No. 137-18, approved on Dec. 21, 2018 and released to the media on Monday, the town’s Sangguniang Bayan declared communist rebels as “persona non grata” or unwelcome and unacceptable people.
Sibagat Mayor Maria Liza Evangelista led the signing of the resolution, which cited the NPA attack on a Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) Active Auxillary Patrol Base in New Tubigon on Dec. 19, 2018, as a form of betrayal.
“The kidnapping and abduction perpetrated by the NPAs is a manifestation of betrayal of achieving peace, thus disrupting the peace and security of the community,” the resolution reads.
The NPA, the Communist Party of the Philippines’ armed wing, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
