FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – The soldiers of the 91st Infantry (Sinagtala) Battalion, Philippine Army strengthened its Anti-Terrorism Awareness Campaign to the local officials of Maria Aurora and San Luis in the province of Aurora on February 8, Thursday.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Julito B. Recto Jr., their campaign was part of the unit’s commitment to spreading awareness against the Communist Terrorist Group’s recruitment among the local officials and encouraged them to report their presence and their criminal activities to the authorities.
He also recognized the local officials as their active partners in peace and development in the province of Aurora.
“If there is peace, more investors will come in that would bring more job opportunities to the people. Let us continue calling those remaining CTG members to lay down their arms and support the government in its peace and development initiatives,” Lt. Col. Recto said.
Amado Angara, Maria Aurora Municipal Local Government Operations Officer, encouraged the local officials to report the presence of the CTGs in their communities immediately.
“Report the presence of this armed group; no one will know that you reported it to the authorities, just like what we did in the fight against drugs that makes us a drug-free province,” Angara said.
In response to this, Maria Aurora town Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) President Aldrin M. Japson expressed his gratitude to the Army for the lecture and the dialogue to address issues, concerns, and sustainable solutions to achieve lasting peace and stability in the province of Aurora.
“We pledged ourselves to support our government to stop the reign of terror of the CTG as we joined in condemning the atrocities of these lawless groups as Persona Non-Grata in our respective localities,” Japson said.
Meanwhile, Major General Andrew D. Costelo PA, Commander of the 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division, Philippine Army, commended the unit’s continued collaborative efforts with the local government units to strengthen the government’s campaign to stop CTG recruitment in the communities.
“This awareness campaign could save someone from being recruited by the CTG. Kaya naman aming pina-iigting ang mga ganitong aktibidad sa mga kanayunan katuwang ang ating mga lokal na opisyal. Let us help each other in putting an end to a half-century-old Communist insurgency in the countryside. Ibahagi ang inyong mga nalalaman sa inyong mga constituents upang mailayo sila sa kapahamakan na dulot ng teroristang grupo,” MGen. Costelo said.
