Amid intensified efforts by the Communist New People Army to regain their lost grounds, top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the local government here has asked incoming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to continue and “enhance even more” the implementation of Executive Order No. 70 of President Rodrigo Duterte, a whole of nation approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC).
The chief of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the head of the Regional Peace and Order Council in the Davao Region has confirmed “intensified efforts” by the NPA rebels to regain their former strongholds as the AFP claimed a huge victory in their fight against the decades-old Communist insurgency in the country.
“The secret formula to defeating insurgency is the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. We expect a continuing interaction between the civilian government heads and the military forces, kasi the military has realized already that we don’t win through the barrel of the gun anymore. There has to be infrastructure development, peace initiatives, messaging for the NPAs to go down and go back to the folds of law. Hindi lang yung killing the enemy natin,” says Major General Manuel Sequitin, chief of the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who visited the City of Mati on Tuesday, June 7, to grace a groundbreaking ceremony for a new radio station to be put up by the provincial government of Davao Oriental.
The decades-old Communist insurgency problem in the country has been met with military solutions for a long time but through President Duterte’s issuance of Executive Order No. 70, the government has come to recognize that local armed conflicts are not only a military concern as it is an indication of broader social, economic and governance challenges manifested by the prevalence of poverty, lack of better opportunities and social inequalities, says the military official.
“Definitely, we will be recommending, we are proposing to the new administration to pursue this program. And am sure na yung mga local government officials who are known close to the incoming President will also recommend the same thing that they get involved in the peace initiatives in all parts of the country,” he adds.
However, Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang who chairs the Davao Region’s peace and order council, says the Communist insurgents are intensifying efforts to regain their lost strongholds in the Davao Region. During a turnover ceremony for parts of the P640 million ELCAC-funded projects in Davao Oriental on Monday, June 6, Governor Dayanghirang said the rebels are hell-bent on recovering their lost grounds.
“Dili nato tugotan kini nga kuhaog balik sa mga rebelde ang atong lugar. Kamo mismong katawhan ang nasayud og nakasinati sa dakong kadaut og kapait nga nahatag nianang gyera sa atong katilingban. Atong pillion sa kanunay ang kalinaw kung boot nato magpuyo nga malinawon og malamboon ang atong katilingban (Do not allow the rebels to take back control of your communities. You have experienced the devastation wrought by the armed conflict. Let us always choose peace if we want to live in a peaceful and prosperous community),” Governor Dayanghirang told a gathering of residents in a geographically isolated village in the town of Lupon who are among the recipients of the P640 million ELCAC-funded projects in Davao Oriental.
The government’s Support to the Barangay Development Program (SBDP) provides funding support for the implementation of local priority programs and projects identified by the community based on the analysis of its issues and gaps. The SBDP’s budget for 2021 is P16.44 billion. The amount was used for the implementation of various support programs of the 822 “cleared barangays,” according to an official statement of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Each of the cleared barangays received P20 million.
“The rebels enter the villages by presenting themselves as non-government organizations with a well-meaning cause in a bid to recruit members. That is how they fool the people in the communities. I don’t think they will succeed in their efforts to win back these communities because the public are already well-informed,” says Major General Sequitin
Orle Cabaobao, provincial director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in Davao Oriental says 32 of the 183 villages in the province already received P20 million each through the government’s ELCAC-funded Support to the Barangay Development Program. Most of these villages are classified as Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas. The amount was used for the construction of farm-to-market roads, health stations, school buildings, electrification, water and sanitation system, housing, agricultural, livelihood, and technical vocational trainings and projects. It was also used for medical, burial, transportation, food, and educational assistance to indigent families and individuals.
At least forty more villages in the province will benefit from the program but each of these villages will only get P4 million as the national government slashed the budget for the program.
“Many village officials here are dismayed as the budget were significantly slashed from P20 million to P4 million for each barangay. May the new President continue this program as it greatly helps in transforming the lives of our people in conflict-affected areas,” says Cabaobao. By Ferdinand Zuasola | Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan, Mark Alvite
