BAGUIO CITY – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), through the Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division (5ID), has declared the entire Cordillera Administrative Region under a State of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SSIPS), citing a significant reduction in communist insurgent forces and their capability to conduct violence.
The declaration was made during Thursday’s full council meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council here.
Maj. Gen. Gulliver Señires, 5ID commander, said the declaration means threat groups in the region no longer have the capability to organize or conduct violent activities based on established criteria.
“The declaration of state of stable internal peace and security in the Cordillera signifies that our threat groups, based on criteria, they are incapable of organizing, they are incapable of conducting violent activities and we have significantly reduced their number,” Señires said in an interview on the sidelines of the meeting.
As of July, authorities had accounted for 12 remnants of the New People’s Army in the region, most of whom are cadres and remain in hiding for fear of arrest, he said.
Señires said the government continues to offer the remaining rebels an opportunity to surrender their firearms and return to civilian life.
“Talikuran na nila ang violent intentions against the government (They can turn away from their violent intentions against the government),” he said.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, chairperson of the Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council, said the declaration could strengthen residents’ sense of safety and security, particularly in areas that had experienced insurgency.
“They will not anymore be afraid especially on insurgency which is high in the provinces where it is felt to the point that by 6 or 7 p.m. they do not go out and stay locked in their homes,” Magalong said in a separate interview.
He recalled that three or four decades ago, the Cordillera was considered one of the country’s strategic areas for communist insurgency.
“Now, armed groups have been decimated unlike before when they used to be thousands in number,” he said.
Magalong said the declaration could help the region access additional development funding and infrastructure projects.
Arnold Ferdinand Bajarin, operations officer of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said the SSIPS declaration marks the beginning of continued government support for the region.
“This is what Cordillera has been clamoring for to obtain the government’s support. This is not the end of the support of the government but the start,” Bajarin said.
He cited the National Action Plan for Development 2025-2028, which provides support for areas declared under SSIPS.
Bajarin said the Cordillera is the ninth region nationwide and the sixth this year to receive the declaration.
He said the declaration would allow areas that have not received barangay development programs to be included in government initiatives.
Among the proposed projects is infrastructure development along the tri-boundary area of Kalinga, Abra and Mountain Province. **Liza Agoot
