Gwen: NPA no threat
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said that a reported plan of the New People’s Army (NPA) to retake Cebu is “no cause for alarm” and that she had heard this before.
In her news conference yesterday, Garcia said the statement shows that Cebu is no longer under rebel influence.
In March 2010, Garcia declared Cebu province “insurgent-free.”
“We continue to make programs that make their cause irrelevant,” she said, citing infrastructure and service programs under her administration.
Garcia said poverty still exists in the province, but that the problem can’t be solved overnight.
Last Sunday, Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus said the military noticed movements and mobilizations, especially in Cebu’s 3rd district of midwest Cebu, through legal fronts of the Communist party.
This report was confirmed by 78th Infantry Battalion spokesman Captain Alberto Ramirez who said military troopers were fielded in six barangays in Toledo City for an information campaign.
He said the military is monitoring possible rebel movements.
