The town of Quezon in southern Bukidnon has been declared insurgency-free, becoming the 10th locality in the province to attain the status.
The declaration was made on Friday during a ceremony at the municipal grounds led by Mayor Pablo Lorenzo III, with officials from the Army’s 1003rd Brigade, the Bukidnon Police Provincial Office, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Lorenzo said the declaration was anchored on a resolution passed by the municipal peace and order council.
He recalled the decades-long toll of the insurgency in the town, which reached its height in the 1990s.
The mayor said that the declaration was not intended to erase history, but to honor the sacrifices of residents and security forces, and to secure a peaceful future for the next generation.
A Manobo-Matigsalug tribal leader shared that his father, a former communist rebel who surrendered in 2019, helped establish the vigilante group Alsa Masa that opposed NPA activities.
He thanked the authorities for their support and urged fellow indigenous peoples to prioritize educating their children for a better future.
Brig. Gen. Christopher M. Diaz, commander of the Army’s 1003rd Brigade, said peace in Quezon was once only an aspiration during his early years of service in Mindanao.
He noted that the current stability was the result of years of sacrifice by soldiers and police, stressing that peace is a shared responsibility and that development should now be prioritized.
Diaz credited the support of the local government as crucial to the achievement and assured residents of the Army’s continued vigilance. Rex Espiritu
Col. Oliver S. Navales, Bukidnon police director, described the declaration as a collective victory rooted in unity and cooperation.
He said being insurgency-free goes beyond the absence of armed conflict, reflecting trust and collaboration between communities and government.
Navales added that sustained peace would open opportunities for education, investment, and economic growth, and thanked former rebels who chose to surrender and support lasting peace.
The ceremony also featured the signing of a persona non grata declaration against the communist movement and the release of white doves, symbolizing a milestone in the town’s history.
Quezon now joins the other insurgency-free areas in Bukidnon, namely, the towns of San Fernando, Kadingilan, Damulog, Dangcagan, Kibawe, Don Carlos, Maramag, Kitaotao, and Valencia City.
