LIEUTENTANT General Romeo S. Brawner Jr., commanding General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, conferred the Significant Accomplishment Streamer Award to the 303rd Infantry Brigade on Thursday, October 13, 2022, for its relentless effort of thwarting the terroristic activities of the communist terrorist group (CTG) in Negros Island.
Receiving the award were Lieutenant Colonels William Pesase Jr., J-Jay Javines and Van Donald Almonte, commanding officers of the 62nd, 79th and 94th Infantry Battalions, respectively, as well as First Lieutenant Roel Duran, company commander of the 33rd Division Reconnaissance Company.
Major General Benedict Arevalo, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, witnessed the ceremonial turnover.
The troops from the three battalions and the Reconnaissance Company led the successful operations against the CTGs in the cities of Himamaylan and Silay and in Manapla town, Negros Occidental and in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental last year and this year, military records showed.
Of these operations, 11 high-powered firearms including six M-16 rifles, an M60 general purpose machine gun, two M-14 rifles, an M4 carbine rifle, a KG9 pistol, three grenades, a .9-millimeter pistol, and three low-powered firearms were seized, it added.
The military also recovered numerous war materials and personal belongings of the rebels.
Eight CTGs were killed in those encounters including their top leader Romeo Nanta while 14 others were arrested.
"Your unit truly deserves these streamers (and) as we can see, 3ID is active in giving awards and recognizing our personnel,” Brawner said, adding that this a very good practice because it encourages the troops to continue their selfless dedication to duty.
“In the last few years, we have had a lot of guerilla fronts dismantled and we shall continue so that by the end of the year we will reach our goals and our enemy will be insignificant in society,” he said.
Brawner encouraged the troops not to lose their enthusiasm even after they had reached their goals.
For his part, 303rd IB commander, Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte said that they will remain focused on sustaining the momentum in capacitating the troops towards greater mission effectiveness.
“We will live up to our brand - of honor, patriotism, and duty (and) we will remain steadfast and resolute in our mandate of serving the people and securing the land," Pasaporte said.