FORT BONIFACIO, Metro Manila – In a courtesy call, the Philippine Army Commanding General welcomed the visit of the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Organization (MIPO) delegates here today, Feb. 10, 2020.
The visit aims to strengthen the cooperation between the IPs and the Army in enhancing counter insurgency efforts in support to the Executive Order 70 or the Whole-of-Nation Approach through the creation of a National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Army Commanding General Lt. Gilbert I. Gapay and MIPO Executive Director Jake Lanes as well as other representatives from IP youth discussed matters on the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Scholarship Program wherein some of the IPs who graduated was recommended for a special enlistment.
“For many years, insurgency especially in the Mindanao region boiled up from CPP-NPA’s exploitation of the vulnerabilities of our IP brothers and sisters. We assure you that the Philippine Army plays its role in ending the conflict in support to attaining a sustainable peace in the region,” Army Spokesperson, Col. Ramon P. Zagala.#