Military won’t withdraw troops in Surigao Sur

Iligan City – The military will not withdraw its troops deployed in Surigao del Sur but will continue its pursuit operations against the communist New People’s Army in Northeastern Mindanao.

This, as some 2,000 evacuees, now housed in an evacuation center in Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur clamored for safe return to their homes after almost a month since the Philippine Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion entered the area and fear for their safety forced them to evacuate.

But, according to the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division spokesman Maj. Samuel Sagun the other day, the military will not withdraw from the area but will continue its pursuit operations against the NPA.

The NPAs are using the civilians and cause-oriented groups to ask for the military’s pullout because communists are under pressure brought by the continuing military operations, Sagun said.

Surigao del Sur is known as part of the sphere of influence of the NPAs’ North Eastern Mindanao Command, according to Sagun.

In a televised interview yesterday Friday, Sagun blamed the cause-oriented group (Karapatan) for padlocking the doors of the gymnasium in Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, where the evacuees were housed, to prevent them from going home. A cellphone camera, apparently taken by military informants showed that the steel gates were allegedly padlocked. – Lino dela Cruz