Army Brig. Gen. Gregorio Fajardo yesterday hit back at priest-turned-rebel Frank Fernandez who recently accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines of heightening militarization of Negros, saying the military was deployed in the island because of them.

“The CPP-NPA is the main reason why we are in Negros island,” Fajardo, the deputy commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, stressed.

He identified the CPP-NPA as one of the main causes why farmers in the countryside were not active in farming. He said this is because of fear of them.

“They (CPP-NPA) demand shares from harvested palay, corn, among others, from farmers. If they do not cooperate, they are threatened and even killed,” Gregorio said.

With these realities, whose presence is not needed in Negros island, Fajardo asked.  “It is the CPP-NPA-NDF and not the military,” he added.

Fernandez who is tagged by the military as the secretary of the Komiteng Rehiyonal-Negros, said the militarization of Negros island is not the answer to the food crisis being experienced by Negrenses.

He called the deployment of more military personnel in Negros island as an indication that the AFP has failed to crush the revolutionary movement, which the military had been boasting it would defeat ever since.

“The revolutionary forces will not be defeated, no matter how many brigades and battalions of soldiers are added to Negros island,” Fernandez said in a statement released to various local media outlets.*GPB

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