SAN FERNANDO CITY, Feb. 23 (PIA) -- Ilocos Region will make history as it is the first region in the Philippines to be declared in a State of Stable Internal Peace and Security.
In a state of internal peace and security, the provinces are categorized as cleared and unaffected by communist terrorist groups (CTGs) and are relatively peaceful and already normalized.
In a report by Brigadier General Krishnamurti A. Mortela, Commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, Region 1 has established and reached the stable internal peace and security status for the whole of 2021 following the dismantling of the Komiteng Larangan Guerilla-South Ilocos Sur (KLG-SIS).
KLG-SIS was the only community terrorist group (CTG) that operated within the region.
He said Region 1 has also satisfied all conditions set forth by the Revised Joint Implementing Rules and Regulations to Executive Order No. 110, series 1999.
Some of the key indicators for this are the absence of violent incident/s; the absence of armed groups; and the lack of support to the CTG from the community in the region, among others.
“We are winning the gains of our counter-insurgency efforts, of course, through the convergence of all sectors of the society as mandated by Executive Order No. 70,” Mortela said during the Summing-Up activity of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF ELCAC1) on Feb.17.
Reports from the Police Regional Office 1 and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Region 1 also showed that Region 1 is generally enjoying a peaceful environment.
National Security Adviser Sec. Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr., also the RTF ELCAC1 chairperson and Cabinet Officer Responsible for Development and Security in Region 1, welcomed the reports and lauded the region’s effective whole-of-nation and good governance approach.
“I do not see any region that has done that. And we are happy that because of the leadership of the national and local government and the people of Ilocos, right from the start we were off to a good start because we only have one KLG which means we have more time for development,” Esperon said.
Despite this significant progress in Region 1, he admitted that insurgency remains a threat in other regions of the country.
“But we have this lingering problem, and we cannot be oblivious of the situations in other areas especially that there were 78 guerilla fronts nationwide, most of them in Mindanao,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials of the Regional Development Council, Regional Peace and Order Council, and RTF-ECAC1 will sign a joint resolution to formalize the declaration of the Ilocos Region on Feb. 24.
Esperon and National Security Council Deputy Director General Usec. Vicente Agdamag are expected to grace the event to be held in San Juan, La Union. (JCR/JPD, PIA La Union)
