JARO, Leyte — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has assured the return to Eastern Visayas within the year of four army battalions deployed to Mindanao against rebel and terror groups, in a bid to intensify the campaign against insurgency in the region.
Lorenzana told reporters on Friday that the process of bringing the troops back to their old assignments will start in six months.
“Give us little more time as we are forming 10 new battalions through the ongoing recruitment of about 5,000 new soldiers. We will assign them in areas where we have operations so we don’t have to pull out troops from different regions,” Lorenzana said.
The defense chief was in town to attend the second-quarter Eastern Visayas Regional Peace and Order Council meeting held in the upland village of Villaconzoilo.
Some 60 percent of government troops are in Mindanao to help fight Abu Sayyaf bandits, communist rebels, and members of the Maute terror group in Marawi City, said Lorenzana.
As early as 2008, the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, Samar sent the 46th Infantry Battalion (IB), 34th IB, 63rd IB from the Samar provinces and 19th IB from Leyte to Mindanao.
“We will prioritize the return of the 46th Infantry Battalion since they have been in Mindanao since 2008,” Lorenzana said.
The battalion has been in Pantukan, Compostela Valley for nearly 10 years now to help top violence perpetrated by the New People’s Army (NPA).
The latest troops deployed were the 63rd IB in Marawi City. Other assignments are Midsayap, North Cotabato (34th IB) and Talayan, Maguindanao (19th IB).
Earlier, the governors of the Samar provinces asked the national government to consider sending back soldiers to the region to deter efforts of the NPA to regain its lost strongholds.
At least three cities and 24 towns have confirmed fresh NPA activities.
There are 404 active NPA members in Eastern Visayas equipped with 576 firearms in four provinces, based on reports of the military. (PNA)
