MAGALONG (FB)
TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Cordillera Administrative Region, composed of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, as well as the cities of Baguio and Tabuk, was declared insurgency free and under a Stable Internal Peace and Security status during the Regional Peace and Order Council second-quarter full council meeting in Baguio City on Thursday.
RPOC Chairperson and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong presided over the meeting where Resolution No. 3, Series of 2026, containing the declaration was adopted.
The resolution was introduced by Col. Darrel Bañez, deputy commander of the 503rd Infantry Brigade, and acting brigade commander Col. Davice Christopher Mercado.
A SIPS is declared when authorities determine that insurgent groups no longer possess the capability to conduct sustained armed operations in a particular area.
The resolution cited years of coordinated security operations, peace-building initiatives, and close collaboration among the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), local government units, and communities across the Cordillera as key factors behind the achievement.
Police Regional Office-Cordillera Director Police Brig. Gen. Ericson Dilag and 5th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Gulliver Siñeres are expected to sign the resolution together with Magalong before it is sent to the National Peace and Order Council chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The military and police said the resolution follows similar assessments and declarations previously issued on the provincial and city levels after authorities reported the dismantling of local insurgent structures and the absence of significant rebel-related activities.
With the declaration, security agencies are expected to transition from counterinsurgency operations to sustaining peace through law enforcement, governance, and development programs.