Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo said there is still a need for the government to continue making its presence felt strongly in sitios Avocado and Kakha, once known as hotbeds of insurgency, in Sta. Catalina town.

“Kakha and Avocado are still priority areas by the Armed Force of the Philipines, and reports of continued sightings of New People’s Army need to be given serious attention and action,” Degamo said in a statement he issued.

While he supports the anti-insurgency campaign of the AFP, Degamo said the provincial government will also continue to provide interventions in the once insurgency-stricken areas, the statement added.

The problem on insurgency could not be solved through military solution alone. This must be coupled with the delivery of basic services to address the needs of the people in these areas, Degamo said in the statement.

These include farm inputs from the Provincial Agriculture Office, animal welfare mission from the Provincial Veterinary Office and livelihood programs from the Technology and Livelihood Development Center, it also said.

The AFP, meanwhile, is implementing its “bayanihan” program in the sitios, where troopers undertake civic-oriented actions, information dissemination and disaster management training, particularly on rescue, relief and retrieval operations.

The areas spanning Kakha and Avocado were considered a no man’s land in the 1990s when it was under the grip of the rebels. Residents sought shelter in Dumaguete City, after government forces moved in on their military operations to stamp out the rebellion.*PIA

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