BUTUAN CITY — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Victor S. Ibrado ordered over the weekend all field unit commanders to redouble their effort in Internal Security Operations (ISO) in solving the communist insurgency by 2010.

“We must have a strong sense of urgency complemented by an even stronger sense of teamwork,” he said.

The AFP Chief of Staff added, “with everybody’s help, we can win this war on insurgency by peaceful means.”

This was stressed by Ibrado, in his speech to officers and men of the 1003rd Infantry (Raptor) Brigade, during his visit at the 1003rd Infantry (Raptor) Brigade headquarters headed by Col. Eduardo D. Del Rosario.

The AFP chief visited various headquarters in northeastern and northern Mindanao including the 1003rd Brigade at Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte together with his command group as part of his troop visitation purposely to personally know the ISO accomplishments of the various units in Mindanao.

He was accompanied by Lt. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer, area command chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMincom), Maj. Gen. Reynaldo B. Mapagu, commanding general of the Army’s 10th Infantry (Agila) Division and other field officers.

Ibrado told the field troops to continuously conduct Civil-Military Operations (CMO) activities together with local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and different stakeholders to have a convergence of efforts in order to attain a peaceful environment conducive for development. He also reminded them to respect human rights at all times.