AFP wants 23 more provinces declared free from insurgency

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is aiming to declare 23 more provinces insurgency-free before President Arroyo’s term ends.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said once these provinces are declared as such, the task of handling their internal security will be turned over from the military to their respective local leaders and the police.

“There is a process that is being followed. The local government executive has to agree to the turnover. We will be handing over the lead role (of maintaining internal security) to the LGUs (local government units),” he said.

“Let me emphasize that it doesn’t mean that when a province is handed over to the local government executive, the presence of the military will not be felt anymore in that area. We will still be in the area to assist the Philippine National Police,” he added.

Brawner said the following provinces will be declared insurgency-free within the first quarter: Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Ifugao, Quirino, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Cebu, Southern Leyte, and Northern Leyte.

On the other hand, internal security operations in the following areas are scheduled to be turned over to their respective local executives within the second quarter – Ilocos Sur, Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Bulacan, Bataan Zambales, Misamis Oriental, and Sarangani.

Brawner said the provinces of Guimaras, Siquijor and Biliran were declared free from insurgency in 2008 while Marinduque, Romblon and La Union were tagged as such last year.

He said the latest to be turned over to local governments are Bohol and Aurora, which were declared insurgency-free last month.

Military officials have said that a province is deemed free from insurgency if the communist movement there is already non-existent or too insignificant to influence the lives of the residents.

Meanwhile, the AFP revealed yesterday the methods allegedly being employed by the New People’s Army (NPA) in its extortion activities.

In a statement, the AFP Civil Relations Service (CRS) said the NPA implements two kinds of extortion: its regular extortion or revolutionary taxes, and the permit-to campaign and permit-to-win fees collected during the election season. 

The AFP-CRS said revolutionary taxes are the group’s principal means of financial and logistical procurement. 

“The main targets are agro-industrial firms, mining companies, bus operators, construction companies undertaking government projects, and even small businesses such as sari-sari store owners,” it said.

The standard rates, according to the AFP-CRS, are six to seven percent of the gross income for logging operators, and P1 million to P2 million for bus companies.

Amounts extorted from big ranch owners and agricultural proprietors would depend on the number of their cows and hectarage of their land, respectively.

“The NPA is not selective of its victims for as long as it can exploit their vulnerabilities,” said AFP-CRS commander Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz Jr.  

The AFP has said that the membership of the communist movement in the Philippines has dwindled to just 4,702 last year from a peak of 25,000 in 1987.  

The decline has been attributed to the government’s countryside development programs as well as to the internal rift among the communist leaders.

The government has set a June 30, 2010 deadline for ending communist insurgency in the country.