BESAO, Mountain Province – The municipal council recently approved a strongly worded resolution condemning the recent atrocities of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA) in sitio Naltit, barangay Soquib, here, that resulted to the untimely demise of Cpl. Felimon Anilong Naganag and the wounding of Pat. Hebron B. Awisan.
Resolution No. 2019-66, series of 2019 was in support to the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) Resolution No. 02, series of 2017 which banned the presence and the conduct of illegal activities by lawless elements in the municipality.
The council resolution stated that it is unfortunate that the MPOC declaration was not heeded by those who continue to conduct their atrocities that cause the farmers to be affected as they are at a loss in their sources of livelihood as they fear that they will be caught in the crossfire.
On October 24, 2019, still undetermined number of NPAs treacherously killed Cpl. Naganag of the Philippine Army and inflicted injuries to Pat. Awisan of the Philippine Natinal Police (PNP) during an alleged encounter in sitio Naltit, Soquib.
The resolution stated that the killing and wounding of the uniformed men are considered inhuman acts of the lawless elements and the same is even considered felonious and barbaric aside from the fact that it is beyond ethical standards of mankind and the law of God, existing laws, rules and regulations, indigenous laws and the peace advocacy of the municipality.
According to the resolution, it is worthy to remember that majority of the people in the municipality depend on subsistence agriculture for a living and since the killing incident, Mayor Johnson Bantog II ordered the temporary stoppage of farm work within the vicinity of the encounter site which have greatly affected the sources of livelihood of the people and having a great effect on the farming calendar of the farmers.
Worst, the resolution stipulated that peace and order in the municipality has been significantly disputed yet those who caused the conflict are strangers in the locality who are in hiding and continue to perform their illegal acts unexpectedly that cause fear and trauma among the residents living in the different villages around the town.
A copy of the resolution was transmitted to gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., chairman of the Provincial Peace and Order Council of Mountain Province for information and appropriate action.
Besao is one of the municipalities that was identified to be the recipients of interventions that will be implemented by the concerned government agencies involved in the local task force to end local communist armed conflict.
The resolution was signed by Vice Mayor June Lopsoten and Councilors Joel D. Lacsigen, Elizabeth A. Buyagan, John M. Antiyag, Dennis Bing-il, Edna S. Kibangen, James B. Badongen and William S. Beswilan.
Local officials continue to doubt the continuous presence of the lawless elements in the municipality and their involvement in a number of atrocities that tend to affect the prevailing decent peace and order situation in the municipality and have a serious negative impact to the existing sources of livelihood of the people who might be caught in the crossfire in future incidents between the government forces and the communist rebels, thus, the need for the lawless elements to start leaving the municipality for the sake of lasting peace in the town. By HENT
