Is this a portent of things to come?
We’re referring to the declaration by officials of Quezon province, fittingly enough, last June 12, the nation’s Independence Day, that it is now free from the influence of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Local government officials as well as the police and military declared the province had attained “Stable Internal Peace and Security” or SIPS status.
They said this means the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the NPA no longer posed a threat to peace and order.
This is a significant development as Quezon province was a stronghold of the NPA in Southern Tagalog from the 1980s to the 1990s, with both print and broadcast media frequently reporting on clashes between government troop and rebels.
While the Quezon police chief clarified that remnants of the NPA may still be present in the province, they are no longer capable of initiating so-called “tactical offensives” against the military.
For Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan, the challenge for the provincial government and local officials is to preserve the peace and make the residents “feel this milestone” through poverty alleviation programs.
She noted that Quezon is the first province in the Calabarzon region to be given SIPS status. Some provinces, she said, had been bestowed that status “through resolutions…but nothing happened in the towns under their jurisdiction.”
Sariaya, a town declared insurgency-free a few days earlier, was a hotbed of rebel activity in the 1980s.
In fact, the town, which lies at the foot of Mount Banahaw, once served as the base of the NPA Melito Glor Command under Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, the longtime NPA spokesperson who died in June 2011.
On Dec. 13 last year, Macalelon town, part of the area known as the Bondoc Peninsula, became the first Quezon municipality to be declared NPA-free.
Aside from the Bondoc Peninsula, the Polillo-Real-Infanta-General Nakar (PRIN area) in northern Quezon is also considered a former stronghold of the insurgency.
Earlier this year, however, sporadic clashes between government troops and the NPA were still reported in the province.
In January, for instance, the Army and the local police faced a band of NPA rebels in gun battles in San Andres and San Francisco towns.
In March, government forces again clashed with what they believe are NPA remnants in Macalelon.
But since then, there have been no reported battles in the province but only “mass surrenders” of rebels, militia members and their supporters, according to the military.
If that’s the case, then the province can now enjoy peace and quiet that has eluded its communities for several decades now, and focus instead on economic and social development.