TACLOBAN CITY, May 20 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Samar Island is more peaceful now with the weakening of the New People's Army (NPA).

In an ambush interview here Monday, the President said he had seen the progress report of the peace and order situation in Samar provinces.

He said it is "getting better and better."

"It's not so much anymore, it's not as chaotic as it used to be and there are still encounters, but not because -- large numbers and their organization have been reduced to small groups. So, I think the progress is sufficient. And, I think we will be able to do it in the schedule that we have given ourselves," the President said.

The military earlier reported that about 1,000 communities in Eastern Visayas we...