President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. led the declaration of Misamis Occidental as insurgency-free province on Friday, September 27, 2024.

The declaration was made in Tangub City.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate a historic occasion, one also that took time in the making the declaration of Misamis Occidental as insurgency-free province,” Marcos said.

“We have succeeded in our campaign to end the decades of conflict in the 60 barangays in your province that were once in the insurgence moves,” the President said.

Marcos said the province’s insurgency-free status will contribute to economic growth, especially in the tourism industry.

The military added that the province has been cleared of the presence of the rebel group because of the collaborative efforts of the members of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), including the local government units, police and other law enforcement agencies, among other stakeholders.

“Naiiba po talaga ito ang declaration ng insurgency- free dahil zero talaga ang NPA. Naubos natin to the last month ang lahat ng insurgence dito sa Misamis Occidental. So yung Guerilla Front Sendong po dismantled na po yun dahil wala na pong tao yun at sinundan yun ng Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee na naubos din po yung tao nun kaya sigurado tayo na di na po makabangon itong dalawang NPA formation nato dito sa Misamis Occidental,” 102nd Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Elmer Suderio, said.

Marcos said communist rebels who returned to the folds of the law will continue to receive assistance from the government.

He added that he wants the entire country to be insurgency-free.

“Let us perpetuate the peace effort that we made here, I know that soon we will be able to declare the entire country, the entire republic as insurgency-free,” Marcos said.

Marcos also led the distribution of P1.2 million cash aid to former rebels in the province. The 120 former rebels received P10,000 each.

A P10.1 million financial assistance was also given to 37 associations for the improvement of socioeconomic condition of the communities.

Meanwhile, around 5,000 beneficiaries of Tulong Panghanapbuhay Sa Ating Disadvantaged/ (TUPAD) Workers Program also received cash aid amounting to P21.9 million.