11th IB set to return to Negros

BACOLOD City – The Philippine Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion, which pulled out from Negros two years ago, will return to the island soon after seeing action in Mindanao.

Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, commander of the AFP Central Command in Visayas, said 11IB will return to Negros Oriental end of May or early June 2019.

The unit is presently based in Zamboanga City.

Clement said the return of 11IB is aimed at helping solve the problem of insurgency in Negros Island.

Presently there are four army battalions assigned in Negros Island – the 94th Infantry Battalion in Negros Oriental and the 15th, 62nd and 79th IBs in Negros Occidental.

Brig. Gen. Ignacio Madriaga, 302nd Infantry Brigade commander, who supervises the 47th Infantry Battalion in Bohol and 94IB, said the return of 11IB to Negros Oriental is a welcome development.

“It will help fast track our objectives of clearing Negros Oriental of armed insurgents sooner than anticipated and desire to make the whole Region 7 insurgency-free,” Madriaga said.

Clement said he is proposing to return the 11IB to its previous headquarters in Guihulngan City, also in coordination with the concerned local government unit.

In the past months, the New People’s Army (NPA) offensives have been centered in the hinterlands of Guihulngan City and its neighboring areas, including Moises Padilla and Isabela towns in Negros Occidental, military records indicated.