The 10th Infantry Division (10th ID) of the Philippine Army (PA) aims to eliminate all communist terrorist groups (CTG) within their area of responsibility (AOR) by the end of 2023.
The target is part of the 10th ID's campaign to achieve an insurgency-free zone in their jurisdiction before December 30 of this year.
During an AFP-PNP press briefing earlier this week, Major Mark Anthony Tito, spokesperson for the 10th ID, said that Brigadier General Allan Hambala issued the challenge.
The focus is dismantling the weakened Guerilla Front 57, discreetly occupying the mountains of Bukidnon and North Cotabato, housing 13 remaining CTG members. Additionally, they are targeting other CTG members of the Sub-Regional Sentro De Grabidad (SRSDG) Peddler in the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) in Quezon Bukidnon.
“Maningkamot ta sa hagit ni General [Hambala] nga makab-ot nato ni. Gamay nalang gyud nga lakang pero dili gihapon ta magkumpyansa bisag ang ubang areas nato sa 10th ID ilabina ang Davao Region insurgency-free na. Monitor ug naa gihapon ang atoang hugot nga seguridad (We will strive to meet General [Hambala]'s challenge. There are only a few steps left, but we should not become complacent, even though other areas in the 10th ID, especially the Davao Region, are insurgency-free. We will continue our monitoring and maintain tight security)," the spokesperson said.
Tito said that the challenge was set to enable all military personnel to celebrate Christmas and New Year securely.
In addition to Pasko Fiesta security measures, the military agency is actively conducting surveillance with other security agencies in the region following the recent bombing attack in Marawi City.
“Kami diria sa atoang ahensya, hugot ang amoang monitoring gumikan sa pagpabomba nga nahitabo didtoa [sa MSU-Marawi]. Strict ang seguridad sa atoang area of responsibility kay dili ta musugot nga mahitabo to sa atoang lugar (Here in our agency, our monitoring is stringent due to the bombing incident at MSU-Marawi. The security in our area of responsibility is strict because we will not allow such incidents to happen in our area),” he said. DEF