Military, police deny reports of rebel extortion in Boracay

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — Officials of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and the Aklan Police Provincial Office (APPO) debunked insinuations of rebel extortion in Boracay Island in Malay town.

Captain Reylan Java, 3rd ID spokesperson, said there was no confirmation on the veracity of the reports. “In fact, we have no reports indicating the presence of the New People’s Army in Boracay Island,” he said.

Java said it is not hard for authorities to detect the presence of rebels doing extortion activities because Boracay is a small area and reports like that could leak easily. “They have also no mass base there to support whatever illegal activities they might conduct,” he said.

 Presently, the 3rd ID has a composite team in the area composed of personnel from the 82nd Infantry (Cadre) Division, with its headquarters based in Camp Monteclaro, Miag-ao, Iloilo, and the 61st IB based in Camp Carreon, Calinog, Iloilo.

The composite team was deployed to the area mainly for anti-terrorism purposes, as an augmentation force to the local police, along with the personnel from the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Java’s statement got concurrence from Sr. Supt. Cornelio Defensor, Aklan Police director, who said that the police did not receive also any single report of NPA extortion in the island.

Defensor said the police has established good relationship with the business sector in the area. “The businessmen in Boracay are very supportive. We do a weekly meeting with them. We believe that such report, if true, would leak to authorities,” he said.

Defensor however said the police could not declare per se that the NPA rebels have not set forth in Boracay Island.

“It’s not as if there’s a note on their back saying that they’re NPAs. If ever a person is an NPA rebel and he set forth in Boracay, he could just be an ordinary citizen wanting to frolic on the beach. If he is caught with a firearm, he could be considered as an ordinary citizen with an illegally-possessed firearm,” Defensor said.

For now, the Aklan Police official said Boracay is very peaceful and that the police is capable of handling peace and order requirements of the island.

Last December 8, members of the Aklan Provincial Peace and Order Council (APPOC) has taken the first step in declaring Aklan insurgency-free. The multi-sector body is composed of representatives from the LGU and the national headquarters of the police and the Philippine Army.

Once the province is completely declared as insurgency-free, it would be turned over to the APPOC, with the understanding that the police will take over the anti-insurgency efforts. But even if it will be declared insurgency-free, a sizeable number of soldiers will still be deployed to the area. (FREEMAN)