SENATOR Panfilo Lacson firmly believed that insurgency problem in the country will not be over by 2010.

Lacson was in Dumaguete City Tuesday. He attended a special academic convocation held at Silliman University.

Panagbenga 2009 blog

In a breakfast media conference, Lacson said insurgency problem will not be solved by purely military operations unless the real causes of the problem will be answered.

He said among the root causes of the insurgency problem in the country are poverty, injustice and corruption.

As a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Lacson believed that PNP will help a lot in solving the insurgency problem.

He said the PNP must be in the front line while the Philippine Army will serve as a support force.

Lacson describe as a "good move" the involvement of the police in the battle against the New People's Army (NPA).

But Lacson said the Arroyo administration will not be able to solve the insurgency problem in country.

Lacson was one of those who sought for a serious investigation on the alleged bidding collusion in a World Bank-funded road project in the country.

Colonel Cesar Yano, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army based in Camp Leon Kilat in Tanjay City, echoed Lacson’s statement.

Yano, a younger brother of General Alexander Yano -- chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said insurgency is not just a problem of military but by the society.

Yano urged the community not to support any rebel group "so that insurgency will end in soonest time."