Centino lauds EastMinCom's drive vs insurgency problem

Centino on Friday (April 22) visited the EastMinCom Headquarters at the Naval Station Felix Apolinario, Panacan this city.

His visit was in line with his series of visitations to EastMinCom's ground units, particularly those deployed in far-flung areas to see their situation and identify their needs.

"I find satisfaction to approach our troops, especially in remote areas. Other than just going there, the important thing is we get to see what they need, so when we go back to the Headquarters, we will be able to make ready the valuable resources that we can extend to help them continue doing their jobs well," Centino said in a statement.

Centino also awarded the campaign streamer awards for EastMinCom's ground units that successfully dismantled various communist terrorists group (CTG) units in their respective areas of operations in 2022.

The units who received awards were troops from 403rd Brigade, 8th Infantry Battalion (IB), and 88IB for dismantling the Guerilla Front (GF) Malayag and GF89 of North Central Mindanao Regional Committee; 1002nd Brigade and 39IB for the GF Alip of Far South Mindanao Region; and 1003rd Brigade, and 56IB for the Sub-Regional Guerilla Unit (SRGU) of Sub-Regional Committee 5, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee.

"Attaining a strategic victory by being able to dismantle several guerilla fronts and leaving the nearest minimum of their forces is a victory for us. And that will be the report card that we will submit to the President," he said.

"Let us do our job well. We have already laid out the directives and instructions on what to do. My instruction is that we continue the relentless pursuit of the remaining insurgents in our area without letup," Centino added.

Lieutenant General Greg T. Almerol, EastMinCom chief, was also given recognition for his supervision that addressed the insurgency problems in his area.

"In the past, the EastMinCom area was known to have the most number of insurgents. Now, we receive reports every day that we have been able to address the insurgency problem through our relentless operations. And these would not be possible if we did not have the supervision and commandership of our leaders," Centino said.

Almerol during his assumption as EastMinCom chief in March last year directed all ground units to finish the CTG remnants in their area of operation.

His directive has resulted in the dismantling of 10 Guerilla Fronts, a unit of Pulang Bagani Command, an SRGU, and an SRC following a series of focused military operations and developmental efforts through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and local government units.