Army Brigade Sent To Finish Off Insurgency In Cagayan, Lower Apayao Borders

October 6, 2020 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY(October 6, 2020) – With an urgent mission to finish off the communist insurgency along the Cagayan and lower Apayao border, the reactivated 501st “Valiant” Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army’s 5th Infantry Division, was sent off Monday afternoon to its new area of operations.

The deployment of the troops in that area is a significant development to fast track the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte in ending insurgency particularly in dismantling the Northern Front Committee in Cagayan and Apayao, said

Col. Rhenante Salvador, deputy Brigade Commander.

Soldiers vow to work closely with the Local Government Units and agencies to hasten the implementation of the “Whole-of-Nation-Approach” and usher in sustainable peace and development in the area.

Though the newly deployed troops are also expected to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search, rescue and retrieval operations in the landslide and flashflood prone areas.

At the send-off rites, Brigadier General Laurence Mina, commander of the 5^th Infantry Division, encouraged the men and women of the 501^st Brigade to carry out their tasks effectively, while pushing them to “patuloy nating palakasin ang ating kapabilidad na tapusin at tuldukan ang insurhensiya sa Cagayan Valley at Cordillera Region sa lalong madaling panahon. Isulong ang makatotohanang kapayapaan at patuloy na kaunlaran para sa lahat. Paigtingin niyo lalo ang katapatan, dedikasyon, at kasipagan sa pagtupad ng ating sinumpaang tungkulin para sa bayan. At higit sa lahat, huwag ninyong kalimutang humingi ng gabay sa ating Dakilang Lumikha.”

The 501st Brigade was provisionally activated as the 1st Infantry Brigade of 5ID on May 15, 1981 and was then renamed as 21st Infantry Brigade of 3rd Infantry Division in July 1986. A week later, it was reassigned back to 1st Brigade.

On April 15, 1988 it was renamed as the 501st Infantry Brigade pursuant to General Order number 199 from the Philippine Army headquarters and was stationed in Sitio Ibulao, Barangay Baguingue, Kiangan, Ifugao.

This brigade was deployed in Mindanao particularly in Sulu on September 15, 2014 to combat the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), then absorbed by 11th Infantry Division as 1101st Infantry Brigade.

Early on this year, 501st Brigade was reactivated and started its Organizational Training on May 22, 2020 and passed an evaluation that is worthy of deployment Monday.

Artemio A. Dumlao