Negros Island remains a priority area for the clearing of communist New People’s Army rebels as attacks and abductions of seafarers perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) continue to be serious concerns of authorities in southern Philippines.

Brig. Gen. Dinoh Dolina, newly-assigned commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, admitted that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) maintains mass-based organizations in Negros because of unresolved issues and root causes needing to be addressed.