Bohol’s insurgency problem persists

Central Visayas Police chief BGen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, on a recent command visit to the Bohol Provincial Police Office, told his men that he sees a resurgence of activities of the communist movement in Bohol in recent years (The Bohol Chronicle, Sept. 16, 2020). A few days later, Junifie Dagale, with a P5-million bounty on her head, was arrested in the island municipality of Carlos P. Garcia. She was wanted for a string of high-profile crimes in Mindanao, including abduction, armed attacks and a robbery that netted 46 pieces of AK-47s and two dozens of other firearms. Congratulations to the Police and military for arresting this Most Wanted personality.

Whether Dagale was in Bohol simply to hide — she was reportedly staying at the house of a relative of her husband — or to aide the local communist movement has not been disclosed. Bohol officially remains insurgency-free now on the 11th year. However, there have been at least four encounters this year: on February 29, April 26, May 9 and June 26. A soldier and one New People’s Army (NPA) fighter were killed in the February 29 encounter.