CAMP GERONA, Murcia, Negros Occidental – The Army’s “fightingest” battalion in the Visayas marked its 38th year today, tracing a long line of commanders and deployments since its activation on 1 July 1986 in the middle of raging wars against Communist insurgents and Muslim secessionists and leading the Army to a decisive victory in the decades-old war against the Maoist rebellion.
Today is the first time the Brigade marked its anniversary after clearing the province of Communist terrorists operating in so-called guerrilla fronts that led to the declaration of Stable Internal Peace and Security Status, a prelude to an “insurgency free” area by government measure.
Today, too, was a day marked by gratitude as the Brigade thanked those in the community who helped it in counterinsurgency efforts – from civil officials to civic group, lawyers and reporters. – links in an entire nation’s approach to insurgency framed by then President Rodrigo Duterte under a whole of nation, whole of government approach that gave birth, among others, to the End Local Communist Armed Conflict councils spanning across the nation from town to regional levels.
“This is the fightingest division under the 3ID,” Major General Marion Sison said as he reviewed the accomplishments of the Brigade in the Communist campaign over the last few years since the renewed approach to insurgency was adopted under Duterte in 2016.
Sison, who commands the ground campaign in the Visayas islands, said the Brigade led its “linecon” or line control battalions to eight “major engagements,” against the Komiteng Rehiyon Negros-Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor (NCBS), the unified four-island leading body of the CPP based in Negros island.
Those engagements, all combat actions initiated by the government led to, among others, the death of ranking Communists like Rodrigo Posadas alias Ka Putin, erstwhile NCBS secretary, Ericsson Acosta, who was deployed to Negros from Luzon to head its Unified Political Committee here; his wife, Kerima Tariman; and former New People’s Army regional commander Romeo Nanta alias Juanito Magbanua.
Sison, who was guest speaker and presiding general of the ceremonies held here, said a “major engagement” by Army standards means five enemies are either captured or killed or five firearms are seized.
The 303rd, he said, racked a total of eight in its campaign against guerrilla fronts assigned to its linecut units that have all been “dismantled” as of late last year – the Central Negros 1 dismantled by the 62nd Infantry Battalion during the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Pesase, the Central Negros 2 “dismantled under the command of Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, and the Northern Negros Front dismantled by the 79th Infantry Battalion then led by Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines.
All three former commanders have already been promoted.
The new commanders – Lt. Col. Evelio Ilangga in the 62nd, Lt. Col. Ziegfred Tayaban for the 94th, and Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan for the 79th – are now tasked with sustaining the Army’s gains including running after rebel remnants estimated to be around five per front.
The Regional Strike Force, a maneuver NPA formation that provides tactical capability anywhere in the island had also been dismantled last year, further weakening the armed strength of the Communist terrorists, Sison said.
