By JEN BAYLON
The recent encounters between government troops and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Cadiz City and Toboso town in Negros Occidental will not impact the May 12 midterm elections in Negros Island Region (NIR), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
Comelec-NIR Regional Director Lionel Marco Castillano said the NPA’s recent activities do not target specific candidates.
“The NPA has not interfered with any candidates, which is why encounters occur when the Army searches for them,” he explained, adding that the encounters are government-initiated.
Castillano emphasized that military operations are focused on addressing security concerns and do not involve partisan political activities.
Meanwhile, the Comelec-NIR director recommended increasing the police presence, particularly in Guihulngan City and La Libertad town in Negros Oriental.
He noted that the province lacks sufficient police personnel, which necessitates the establishment of the Police Regional Office in NIR to meet the region’s security needs.
Castillano said Negros Oriental, under Comelec control for the upcoming elections, is a priority area due to past political disputes and violent incidents.
NIR has seen the deployment of additional security forces to ensure a peaceful electoral environment.
On Tuesday, March 18, troops from the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) engaged at least seven remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF) in Toboso town’s Barangay General Luna.
Three soldiers sustained minor injuries in the 16-minute firefight.
Intelligence reports indicate that the NPA remnants were planning to reestablish their operations in Northern Negros, using the recovered weapons and supplies to regain strength.
Monitoring
The 79IB had been monitoring NPA remnants in Toboso for more than a month before the encounter on Tuesday.
According to Colonel Erwin Lamzon, 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson, the pursuit began in late February as part of ongoing operations against the dismantled NNF.
Lamzon revealed that local residents provided intelligence on the presence of armed individuals in the area, who were allegedly involved in extortion activities to secure supplies.
The military continues to conduct clearing operations to flush out the remaining rebels.
They seized weapons and other materials from the rebels, disrupting their efforts to regroup and sustain their operations in northern Negros.
The latest encounter comes just 10 days after two high-ranking officials of NNF’s Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR-NCBS) were killed in a clash conducted by the 79IB at Hacienda Paraiso in Cadiz City’s Barangay Caduha-an.
The slain KR-NCBS officers were identified as Hans Ponterasa, who was the acting regional front secretary and finance officer of the regional taxation implementing group; and Marissa Pobresa, a former squad leader of the platoon, which was previously part of the dismantled Central Negros 2 unit.
Pobresa was also identified as Ponterasa’s primary staff member and the group’s regional communication officer./JB, WDJ