Rebels in Negros Or moving to Bohol, Cebu, says military

DUMAGUETE CITY ,Philippines  — Some members of the NPA operating in central and southern parts of Negros Oriental, may have moved to Bohol or Cebu provinces, according to Col. Pio Diñoso III of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

Diñoso said that it has been several months since his troops reported of sightings of armed men believed to be of the NPA's Komiteng Rehiyonal Sentral Bisayas-South East in the hinterlands of Siaton, Zamboanguita and some other towns.

Nothing has been sighted of them recently, prompting Diñoso to coordinate with the military officials in Bohol to verify whether some of the rebels in Negros Oriental have already crossed over to neighboring provinces.

In 2008, the 79th IB had moved its camp from Bohol to Negros Oriental after military officials declared Bohol as "insurgency-free," trailing the rebels in Negros.

Many of the top officers of the rebels in Negros Oriental were believed to be originally from Bohol and Cebu, military officials said earlier.

Diñoso also said the 79th IB has successfully slowed down insurgents' activities in the towns of Siaton and Zamboanguita due to non-combat peace and development activities under the governments' Oplan Bayanihan program.

The last remaining stronghold of the rebels in central and south Negros Oriental was in hinterlands of Sta. Catalina town, about 90 kilometers south of this capital city, Diñoso said.