Negros Occidental PPOC okays P50M fund for Army, PNP

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The anti-insurgency campaign of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police in Negros Occidental is now boosted with the approval of an allocation of P50 million fund for peace and order programs for 2018.

The Provincial Peace and Order Council of Negros Occidental, headed by Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., had approved on Thursday a resolution allocating the money for the police and the military in the province, which will be forwarded to the Provincial Board for concurrence.

Maria Lina Sanogal, PPOC action officer, said that P15 million of the P50-million fund has been earmarked for intelligence gathering data, and the bulk of the budget will be for various peace and order programs. The resolution also authorized the governor to prioritize the implementation of these programs next year, she said.

The Negros Occidental provincial government has been a consistent awardee by the AFP and the PNP, due to its support in the peace and development and law enforcement operations of state security agencies.

According to a military official, an amount of P100,000 is being offered to anybody who may provide information leading to the arrest or neutralization of New People’s Army in Negros Occidental.

Major General Jon Aying, 3rd Infantry Division commander, disclosed that two informants already got P100,000 each, after providing the military an information that led to the arrest of two national officials of the CPP-NPA recently at a checkpoint in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.

Sanogal also reported that the PPOC approved a resolution supporting the proposal of KAPATIRAN — formerly known as the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade — for Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA), in connection with the proposed PAMANA peace and development community site at Barangay Locotan in Kabankalan City.

The resolution states that the CBFMA could provide KAPATIRAN members an opportunity to participate in managing and sustaining the reforestation program of the provincial government. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources hired former RPA-ABB members—a breakaway faction of the New People’s Army—as forest guards in Negros Occidental.

Sanogal said the PAMANA infrastructure projects in Locotan, Kabankalan City, is now almost complete, and beneficiaries could settle after the acquisition of the tenurial instruments.

Tenurial is defined as the holding of property, especially real property, of a superior in return for services to be rendered.

The CBFMA is a major requirement for the tenurial instrument so that the full implementation of the disposition of arms under the Closure Agreement between the RMP-P/RPA/ABB and the Philippine government could be completed, the resolution added. (FREEMAN)