CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The 7th Infantry Division (ID) of the Philippine Army is eyeing the formal declaration of Pampanga as insurgency free after several years of peaceful status.
Major General Angelito De Leon, commander of 7th ID said that the entire area of responsibility of the division was already declared peaceful and ready for further development (PRFD) as early as 2013.
He added that Pampanga was already declared as PRFD several years earlier together with other provinces and is now valid for being declared as insurgency free.
“There will be deliberations to be conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the police, and the local government unit (LGU) and hopefully this will be validated in due time by next semester of this year,” he said.
The general also pointed out that the province will greatly benefit from the investors, who want to put up their business in Pampanga.
He also said that with the little number of leftist remnants in the whole region, the situation degenerated into law and order situation rather than a military concern which can be handled by the Philippine National Police and the LGUs.
“In our estimates, around 140 NPA remnants are left in the whole region, with equal number of firearms. Hindi na sila nakakababa sa kapatagan although their legal operations are still on-going through their legal fronts with their several mass demonstrations, immediately addressed by the LGUs concerned,” he said. (PR)