By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Appointments recently confirmed an ‘ad interim’ promotion for Philippine Army 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, Brigadier General Benedict Arevalo, and 31 other Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) senior officials.
Also among those confirmed included Western Mindanao Command commander, Lt. General Cirilito Sobejana, and 1st Infantry Division commander, Major General Roberto Ancan; both of whom are from Negros.
Towards the end of last month, Arevalo spoke on “Deceptive Youth Recruitment Strategy of the NPA” during a forum at the at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum.
The military official said they respect academic freedom and the rights for individuals to express criticism of the wrongs they see in society; however, activism should be distinguished from supporting terrorism.
Arevalo explained, when a person takes up arms or supports terror organizations like the NPA, that is a violation of the law and the government must act upon it./DGB, WDJ