NEGROS ORIENTAL, Philippines — The Central Command (CentCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is aiming to make Negros Oriental an insurgency-free province this year.

CentCom Commander Lt. Gen. Ralph Villanueva disclosed the plan in a meeting between the Philippine National Police, represented by Police Regional Office 7 director Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo, and the AFP at the CentCom headquarters in Cebu.

Villanueva admitted that communist rebels in Negros Oriental have been growing, albeit slowly, in number but he assured the public that continued military operations, with the support of local government units and the police forces, has managed to make the situation more manageable than it was in the past.

He expressed hope that within this year, government forces would be able to clear the province, including Bohol and Cebu, of insurgents."We are on top of the situation, with the help of the police," Villanueva told media.

The Centcom chief, however, said that in order to declare an area insurgency-free, the root causes of insurgency in the area must be addressed.

For his part, Director General Jaime Calungsod, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Operations in the Visayas said the PNP will continuously support all Centcom operations. He added that police forces have been maneuvered well to have sufficient strength in the fight against the rebels.

In a related development, Villanueva denied allegations that rebels have been spotted in Bohol province although he said his command has been monitoring such talks, especially when a still unconfirmed report came out about a police officer in that province who was allegedly abducted by rebels in the area.

Calungsod added that the PNP has already sent its Special Forces to Bohol even as he gave further assurances that it is perfectly safe for local and foreign tourists to continue going to the province.