CAMP SERVILLANO AQUINO, San Miguel, Tarlac – This province has been declared insurgency-free and is now relatively peaceful. This was declared by the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) on Friday, June 23, in Resolution No. 2, Series of 2023. The resolution acknowledged the province's current state of Stable Internal Peace and Security. The declaration was significant since Tarlac was the hotbed of insurgency, being ironically the birthplace of the New People's Army (NPA) in 1969. The Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said that Tarlac is the first province in Region 3 to be declared a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security. The resolution noted that the capabilities of the NPA operating within Tarlac province, particularly the Komiteng Larangang Gerilya-Tarlac-Zambales (Tarzam) that was officially declared weakened in 2022 have been significantly reduced. The crushing defeat of the NPA in Tarlac was attributed to the combined efforts of the Nolcom, Philippine National Police, Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), member-agencies of the PPOC, and the provincial government of Tarlac. In a message, Gov. Susan A. Yap stressed the importance of peace in achieving regional progress. "Tarlac has been fighting for peace because, without peace, development and progress will not come," the governor said. She believed that peace could only be achieved through open communication with the people and finding solutions to their problems. Yap expressed gratitude to the collaborative efforts of the various government agencies involved in finally declaring the province peaceful. She noted that this will be a good opportunity for more investors.