MILITARY and government officials of Eastern Visayas have reassessed their achievements toward peace and order in the region.
The performance evaluation was done during Wednesday’s quarterly meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in Tacloban City.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, acting as RPOC chairman, presided at the conference, attended by council members and officials from the 8th Infantry Division (8ID) of the Philippine Army, Police Region 8 Office (PRO8 ), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and
other member agencies.
Lt. Col. Manuel Degay Jr., operations chief of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Storm, briefed the conferees on the council’s internal security operations in the region.
A salient feature of Degay’s updates was the joint efforts of the RPOC-8 and the Regional Task Force 8 in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), resulting in the diminution of the armed struggle of the four Sub-Regional Committees (SRC) and one Island Committee of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) during the first quarter of the year, as confirmed by the National Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center.
Significant achievements in the peace and order efforts included the neutralization of the Secretary of SRC Sesame during an encounter in Borongan City, Eastern Samar on Jan. 6, the capture of nine high-powered firearms and other insurgent items in Calbayog City, Samar on Feb. 4, and the neutralization of two communist rebels including one high-value individual during an encounter in Albuera, Leyte on Feb. 10.
Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the Army’s 8Ist Division, emphasized that these accomplishments were the result of collaboration among RPOC-8 member agencies.
“This year, we aim to completely eradicate and achieve total victory against the EVRPC. This goal will be realized through significant advancements in our anti-insurgency efforts, highlighting the undeniable strength derived from our collective endeavors. United as a cohesive force, we pave the way for lasting peace and progress across Eastern Visayas,” Ligayo said.