MANILA, Dec. 3 -- The government has moved toward ensuring that barangays formerly controlled by the New People's Army (NPA) remain free of the communist rebels' influence.

"This ensures that hard-won peace is irreversible and that communities once trapped in fear now move toward stability, governance, and development," the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the anti-communist body said this is a "decisive new phase" of its peace campaign aimed at securing, sustaining, and insulating the barangays from NPA influence.

"This new phase signals a clear national resolve: no liberated barangay will fall back into fear. No hard-won peace will be surrendered," it said.

This st...