By JUNE S. BLANCO

CEBU CITY. – Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva, commander of the Central Command (Centcom), and Rep. Erico Aumentado (2 nd District, Bohol) have agreed to maintain the full force of the Special Forces (SF), and the 802 nd Brigade based in Carmen, Bohol as a deterrent strategy to prevent, if not, discourage the re-entry of NPA insurgents during Aumentado’s governorship, The agreement came on the heels of persistent efforts of the NPAs’ return from Negros and Leyte-Samar areas in light of the massive military operations against the insurgents therein. In the meeting with Aumentado in Camp Lapu-Lapu last Wednesday, Villanueva confirmed that he aborted the departure of an SF company from Bohol for retraining due to intelligence reports that some NPAs have returned to the province after their legal fronts succeeded to soften the ground for the insurgents’ re-entry.

The solon said he just landed at the Tagbilaran airport from Manila when he saw the SF company waiting for their own flight when Villanueva’s call to abort came. He added that Villanueva also urged local government officials to be vigilant and coordinate their efforts closely with the military and the police who are tasked to ensure the peace and tranquillity in Bohol and other provinces under his command. Earlier on, Aumentado rallied the barangay captains during their congress at the Bohol Tropics Resort Hotel in Tagbilaran City to strengthen their barangay intelligence networks and lead their communities in preventing the return of the NPAs in order that the present development in Bohol as a top tourism destination and No. 1 agriculture producer in Central Visayas can be sustained.

Aumentado said peace and order are the foundation of development. A peaceful environment is needed for the influx of investments, tourists and business into the province. “We should not allow,” he said, “the return of the days when Bohol was the subject of advisories by various foreign embassies because of the insurgency problem, bad peace and order picture of Bohol.” “We cannot afford,” he said, “to dampen Bohol’s economic takeoff by allowing insurgency to rear its ugly head in the province.”