NPA speaker invited to PPOC peace talks

Mountain Province Gov. Leonard Mayaen (with microphone) indulges in light conversation during the August 4 Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting in Bontoc, Mountain Province to tackle matters like insurgency. (L to R) Col. Bismarck Soliba and Col Eliseo Posadas of the 501st Battalion, District 1 board member Alfonso Kiat-ong, lawyer and former governor Jaime Gomez, Bontoc mayor Pascual Sacgaca, Mayaen, Vice Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan, provincial Association of Barangay Captains chairman Theodore Lacwasan and DILG Director Rufina Fegcan. -- Ferdi Castaneda

By Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The Provincial Peace and Order in its first meeting with the new administration chaired by Gov. Leonard Mayaen, invited New People’s Army - Cordillera Peoples’ Democratic Front (CPDF) spokesperson Simon “Ka Filiw” Naogsan to its next meeting on Sept. 8, to talk ‘peace.’

Mayaen who chairs the PPOC, said authorities shall provide safe conduct pass for Naogsan eliciting an amused response from the members of the PPOC composed mostly of officers from national government agencies, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP).

The invitation sprang from a suggestion of local leader lawyer Jaime Gomez, a former Mountain Province governor) following discussions on the peace and order situation of the province especially insurgency related concerns.

Col Eliseo Posadas of the 501st Battalion based here suggested the conduct of peace talks with the province’s council of elders to be initiated by the Local Government Units in response to the Army’s drive against insurgency.

The province experienced four encounters between the NPAs and government forces and two ambushes from the rebel forces in separate occasions since the start of the year.
The latest July 9 ambush happened in Sitio Chawer, Samoki, Bontoc killing seven soldiers which led to the Municipal Council of Bontoc condemning the ambush stating that said incident happened within the territorial jurisdiction of the town.

Posadas said there are four barangays in the province which are influenced by the NPAs indicating that these have "shadow governments” operating in the barangays of Mainit and Kan-ew of Bontoc, Betwagan of Sadanga, and Aguid of Sagada.

Commanding officer of the 54rth Infantry Battalion LTC Steve Crespillo said the AFP, in its objectives to curb insurgency and bring back rebels into the fold of law intends to support LGUs in their development programs to alleviate poverty.

In a separate interview, the governor entertained the possibility of establishment of Mountain Province as a peace zone where AFP-NPA conflicts shall not be allowed inside the province’s territorial jurisdiction.

“The terms shall be identified in the next PPOC meeting in September,” Mayaen said.