Pangasinan soon to be ‘insurgency-free’

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Officers of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division and officials of the provincial government of Pangasinan convened Monday at the Provincial Capitol here and agreed in an assessment here the province will soon be declared “insurgency-free.”

On June 13, a joint recommendation between the Army’s 702nd Infantry Brigade and the Pangasinan Provincial Police Office  was signed, endorsing Pangasinan to be declared as “insurgency Free”.

A requirement prior to the declaration of Pangasinan as “insurgency free” is a pronouncement of the Area Clearing Evaluation Board (ACEB) that the province is “cleared” of local terrorist groups (LTGs) and the Communist NPA terrorists (CNTs).

Major Ericson C. Bulosan, acting chief of Northern Luzon Command (NoLCom) public information office, said the main agenda of the ACEB meeting is to evaluate the area clearing conducted by the Area Clearing Evaluation Team (ACET) based on given parameters that qualifies an area to be “insurgency free.”

Leading the 7th ID group during the meeting was Brigadier General Lenard T. Agustin, while representing the province of Pangasinan was Pangasinan Gov. Amado I. Espino III, who is also the ACEB chairman.

“It is hoped that before the year ends, Pangsinan will finally be declared as “insurgency free,” Bulosan said.