BACOLOD CITY — The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division hit back at the New People’s Army (NPA) for condemning the supposed militarization in central Negros.
Brig. Gen. Dinoh Dolina, commander of the 3rd Division, said in a statement on Thursday such claim is obsolete and repetitive which indicates the absence of issues they can use to jeopardize the activities of the army and the government.
They have been tossing the issue at us out of desperation, he added.
The 3rd ID official was reacting to the statement of the NPA’s Leonardia Panaligan Command through its spokesperson JB Regalado issued to the media here earlier this week, assailing the operations of the 303rd Brigade in some hinterland areas in Negros Island and the alleged violations committed by troops of the 62nd and 79th Battalions against the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.
Dolina said it is their mandate, as the legitimate Armed Forces, to safeguard the people and the land against the NPA, who are truly responsible for the militarization and terrorism against the people.
“Our presence in the hinterlands is a response to the cry of the community who are victims of your endless and ruthless criminal activities. Does helping the community bring their issues and concerns to the local government units and other government agencies now mean militarization?” the 3rd ID chief added.
The killings of a retired police officer and a soldier in Moises Padilla town, which the NPA admitted as their own doing, are evidence of the communist rebels’ barbaric acts of terrorism, Dolina said.
He added that communities warmly welcomed and are grateful for the presence of the government troops as they have been living in fear of the NPA’s vicious activities. (PNA)
