Army meets 19 Himamaylan village chiefs

THE 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army met with 19 village chiefs in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental Monday, September 24.

The meeting was presided by Barangay Captain Benjamin Jose Sian of III-Poblacion, president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) at the City Hall.

Lieutenant Colonel Egberto Dacoscos, commanding Officer of the 62nd IB, in a press release, said they informed them about the alleged propaganda of terrorist groups like the way they exploit issues to influence and create an organization that will go against the government.

They should not be deceived by the issues being propagated by the anti-people and anti-peace terrorist group. They should be reminded who are the real enemies and that the legitimate soldiers are always ready to bring peace and progress, he added.

Dacoscos shared to the village chiefs the incident that happened at Panciao, Manjuyod in Negros Oriental, showing the "merciless acts" done by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) by killing a barangay captain.

Dacoscos reminded them to give their full support to the government to avoid the recurrence of the same incident.

"We are of peace and not on threatening others. Your full support is highly needed in order to meet the objective of winning peace because we cannot succeed if only our organization puts endeavor for this. This is a collaborative effort," he said.

They were also given updates on the Community Support Programs (CSP) of the military in villages of Buenavista, Carabalan, and Mahalang.

A video on peace rally in the province was also presented to show that the NPA group already succeeded in organizing sympathizers.

A forum was also conducted after the talk.