SORSOGON CITY—Gov. Raul Lee has called for an immediate stop to the rash of violence that has hounded the province for the past months.

        Without mentioning any particular group, the governor said these violent incidents must be stopped as it had given a bad image to the
LEE                     province, especially to its tourism program.

        The latest incidents that occurred were the simultaneous attacks by the communist New People’s Army at the police and Coast Guard stations and the Traffic Management Group office in Matnog town, which resulted in the death of four NPA members, a coast guard officer, and a municipal kagawad from Masbate.

        Lee lamented that such incidents happened at a time when the provincial and municipal governments were vigorously promoting the tourism industry in the province.

        This, he said, was aggravated by the inclusion of Sorsogon in the priority areas for the anti-insurgency campaign of the government.

        In a press statement from the NPA’s Celso Minguez Command, which covers Sorsogon, it said the attack in Matnog town was a response to the all-out war declared by the Arroyo administration against the NPA.

        The NPA blamed Rep. Jose Solis (2nd District-Sorsogon), chair of the House committee on defense and security, and business tycoon Loida Nicolas-Lewis for the inclusion of Sorsogon province in the AFP’s priority list.

        Solis, however, denied having requested the AFP for the inclusion of Sorsogon in the list even if he was the chair of the defense committee.

        Lewis also denied such accusation, saying what he proposed to the Department of National Defense was to declare Sorsogon as a peace zone so tourism could be promoted freely.

        Lee urged Solis to look into the matter to determine how and why the province was included in the list.

        The governor suggested that Solis call for a House hearing and invite local chief executives in the province as well as the local military commanders and police chiefs.

        The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, in a resolution passed during its last session, decried the action of the national government, saying Sorsogon’s inclusion in the priority list was counter-productive to the province.

        The provincial board said the inclusion of Sorsogon among the insurgency hotspots would scare potential travelers, tourists and investors which would definitely hurt the province’s economy.

        The SP asked that Sorsogon be deleted from the list as it gives false notion to the public that the province is chaotic and rebel-infested.

        Lee stressed that despite the recent incidents the province is still very peaceful and that tourist and travelers could be assured of their safety here. Bobby Q. Labalan, Media Solutions