No Army loyalty check in Negros

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — There is no need to conduct a loyalty check among Army troops stationed in Negros island, according to Colonel Alberto Desoyo, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade.

Desoyo, who supervises four Army battalions consisting of about 2,000 soldiers, issued this statement in reaction to the reported plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

Desoyo said he and his men have so many jobs to attend to in Negros, and he is determined to accomplish them.

President Duterte had earlier accused some of his troops of conniving with enemies of the state, as military officials warned of a "broad" coalition of communist rebels, and the president's critics were conspiring to remove him from office in a plot called "Red October.”

Desoyo said they are concentrating their efforts on preventing atrocities perpetrated by the New People’s Army, including their SPARU operations, whose victims are barangay officials and innocent civilians, and their arson activities.

The NPA rebels have been hitting defenseless and innocent civilians, but avoiding clashes with government forces to preserve their own. Desoyo said military operations are ongoing, and he was confident that they would able to neutralize those behind the series of atrocities. “We have no time to think of what others are saying (ousting the president), as we focus on our mission.