Pinabacdao town now under State of Stable Internal Peace and Security Conditions

By 802nd Infantry Brigade, 8ID PA
April 9, 2025

CAMP DOWNES, Ormoc City – The Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the Municipal Peace and Order Council of Pinabacdao, Samar declared their municipality to be in a State of Stable Internal Peace and Security Condition during a simple declaration ceremony led by Hon. Teodorico T. Mabag, held at Barangay Obayan Covered Court in Pinabacdao, Samar on April 08, 2025.

Said status was strengthened through a signed Sangguniang Bayan Resolution Number 25-014, series of 2025.

This attainment of this status followed after the municipality met all the parameters set by the Joint AFP-PNP regarding the peace and security situation in the area.

Based on the directive, the Internal Peace and Security spectrum is composed of four stages, namely: Insurgency, Conflict-Manageable, Suppressed Insurgency; and Stable Internal Peace and Security.

Under the SIPSC stage, the municipality is categorized as Cleared and Unaffected and is relatively peaceful.

The local PNP, in its lead role in Law Enforcement Operations (LEOs), performs normal police functions and conducts purely law enforcement activities, while the Army, in its support to LEOs, primarily performs military functions.

The absence of NPA-related violence for more than three years in the municipality of Pinabacdao, Samar played a vital factor in the status declaration.

It can be recalled that Pinabacdao has been one of the hotbeds of insurgency in the province of Samar.

In 2023, there were eleven active NPA members who were residents of Pinabacdao. At present, only three (3) were left after the surrender of eight(😎 as a result of the localized peace engagement activities of the Municipal Task Force ELCAC.

The province’s high poverty incidence -- estimated at 24.9 percent, the highest in Eastern Visayas last 2024 -- has been one of the main causes of insurgency, which the government, through the NTF-ELCAC has been continuously addressing.

Brigadier General Noel A. Vestuir PA, Commander of the 802nd Infantry (Peerless) Brigade, Philippine Army, attributed the success of the municipality’s internal peace and security campaign to the active collaboration of the members of the MTF-ELCAC led by Mayor Mabag in addressing the cause of insurgency in their municipality.

“The declaration of the insurgency's end in what was once a hotbed of violence in the province of Samar is a significant milestone for Pinabacdao in terms of achieving internal peace and security. This development is expected to attract more investors and local entrepreneurs, leading to new business ventures and a boost in local tourism,” BGen. Vestuir said.

Meanwhile, BGen. Vestuir vowed that despite the declaration of stable internal peace security status, the Army would continue to secure the municipality.

“We are pleased with this declaration and hope the local government unit (LGU) will continue its efforts to address the root causes of insurgency. As for us in the Army, we are committed to remain vigilant. Our troops will continue to secure the area to prevent the recovery efforts of the New People's Army (NPA) in their former stronghold,” he added.