In compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s statements last month regarding the earlier spate of killings in Negros Oriental, Joint Task Force-Negros (JTF-Negros) was launched, which will be under the command of Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division assistant commander, Brigadier General Eric Vinoya.
“Ending insurgency to attain the desired sustainable peace and development does not only depend on the hands of the law enforcement agencies, military, and police but also through the cooperation of all local government units and national government agencies,” the military official explained. “We are adopting the said national peace framework.”
He said the task force intends to address the insurgency situation on the island; reduce and cease local, national, and foreign terror groups; and ultimately dismantle priority guerilla fronts in order to defeat Communist terror groups.
Vinoya added, JTF-Negros was not only created to address the roots of insurgency and fight government enemies but to develop good working relationships among its members and other stakeholders./DGB, WDJ