TACLOBAN CITY-The Philippine Army will be intensifying its mopping-up operations in Leyte to completely free the province from the dwindling number of insurgents operating in the hinterlands.
This move was initiated after a series of unheeded ultimatums, warning the insurgents to surrender or face the consequences of intensified military operations.
Brigadier General Noel Vestuir, brigade commander of the 802nd Peerless Brigade said the army’s approach may tend to be aggressive in the field but their “ultimatum” also offers alternatives for insurgents looking to turn away from armed struggle.
Alongside military pressure, the government offers programs such as the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). The goal is to offer insurgents a chance to return to civilian life with benefits like livelihood assistance, financial support, and employment opportunities, hoping to incentivize surrender.
Rebel groups are often given a period to surrender their arms voluntarily, with the army assuring no persecution under the government’s Local Amnesty Program if they choose to leave the movement.
Community-based efforts are ramping up as well, to ensure local populations see the government’s efforts in a positive light and discourage them from supporting insurgency movements.
“This ultimatum may sound harsh but it is actually an opportunity for them to come down and return to the folds of the law. We are issuing this ultimatum for them to make the right decision now, and not when they would just like to,” Vestuir said.
A recent clash with government troops of the 93rd Infantry Battalion led to the death of a high-ranking official of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and his two other companions in Cogon village, Carigara, Leyte. While in another encounter in Pinanag-an village in Borongan City with the army’s 63rd Infantry Battalion resulted in the death of one armed insurgent.
Military leaders have warned that continuing violence will only lead to more casualties and disruptions for local civilians.
The Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade’s area of operation includes the entire Leyte Island, Biliran province, southern part of Samar, and southern part of Eastern Samar. Vestuir said they have reduced the NPA platoon under their areas of operation to only 34 active fighters, seven of them are in Leyte province.
“Choose peace. Choose life. The safest where they can be right now is with their families,” Vestuir added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army in Eastern Visayas installs a new battalion commander of the 93rd Infantry “Bantay Kapayapaan” Battalion based in Aguiting, Kananga, Leyte in a Change of Command on July 1, 2025.
Outgoing Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Charlie Saclot relinquished his position to incoming battalion commander Lt. Col. Celeste Frank Sayson in a ceremony presided over by the army’s 8th Infantry Division commander, Major General Adonis Ariel Orio.
The new battalion commander readily accepted the challenge of finally rinsing and totally dismantling the communist terrorist groups in the battalion area of responsibility through “doctrinal, methodical and scientific ways”.
“Innovation will be the hallmark of my leadership,” Lt. Col. Sayson said in his acceptance speech.
(ACR/PIA Leyte)
