Army to focus on Panay rebels
The Army will shift the focus of its counter-insurgency campaign to Panay Island in the second half of the year, the commander of the Army unit stationed on the island said on Wednesday.
Col Gerardo Layug, commander of the Army's 301st Infantry Brigade, said more troops under the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) will deployed to the island to reinforced the brigade.
The 3ID covers the islands of Panay, Negros, Bohol and Cebu and commands around 5,000 troops.
The 3ID is currently focusing its forces and efforts on Negros Island especially in the northern part of the island where members of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Part of the Philippines (CPP), have stepped up operations in recent months.
“We expect to clear Negros by the first half of this year so we will shift our focus to Panay Island,” Layug said in an interview.
He said troops will concentrate its operations in the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz and Antique from the second half of this year and until 2010.
Additional troops numbering to at least a battalion (around 500 soldiers) are expected to be deployed to the island in the middle of the year.
Layug said NPA rebels on the island are estimated to be from 120-150 but he said the rebels' ranks are “dwindling everyday.”
He said at least 23 rebels have surrendered this year and have availed of the government's Social Integration Program.
“We expect more to surrender because of the difficulty of life in the mountains and because of our social and economic programs,” said Layug.
Troops, however, have been alerted because of the coming 30th anniversary of the NPA on March 29.
Layug said they are prepared to pre-empt possible attacks of the rebels.