Davao Oriental continues to put other LGUs around country in awe with its implementation of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) which has been making innovations to entice rebels to return to the fold of the law and start life anew with their families.
Brigadier General Ignacio Madriaga, Commanding Officer of the 302 Infantry Brigade, who recently led the region seven delegation of benchmarkers to the E-CLIP implementation of Davao Oriental, recognized the province as a local government unit trailblazing in its ways to address insurgency.
“I am very hopeful and I was very motivated in coming here for the benchmarking activity because I can clearly see that this is an effective way for a province to be declared as insurgency-free and enjoy lasting peace and massive development. Bohol was once the template of countering insurgency, but with the innovations made by the province, Davao Oriental has become the new template,” he added, after a tour at the Happy Home compound.
He cited the innovation made by the province which is the Happy Home – a halfway house and processing center that prepares former rebels for their eventual return to the mainstream society.
“We have a similar facility in my area but the programs are not as comprehensive as your programs. I can say that your E-CLIP here is a well-crafted and implemented. It continues to upgrade overtime as the province is persistently thinking of what more can there be to offer,” he furthered.
The Nagkakaisang Lingkod-Bayan ng Davao Oriental (NLD-BOC) has turned out to be another vehicle and an investment for peace and development, with hundreds already coming out and surrendered, seeing for themselves the services of the government reaching to the far-flung barangays.
“One big contributory factor here is that Gov. Nelson Dayanghirang himself is the number one campaigner of peace,” said former Provincial Director and now Northern Mindanao Assistant Regional Director of the Department of the Interior of Local Government Yvette Tolentino-Sunga.
Newly promoted 701st Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Manuel Sequitin is happy and grateful that other LGUs around the country appreciate what we have showcased here. He hopes that all LGUs will implement the same so as to totally stamp out insurgency.
“The provincial government plays a very big role, as it leads the peace and development efforts. The soldiers and the police are just supporting factors. And we are happier to report that more and more rebels are now coming down and opted to live peacefully. For now, we can say that the strength of the rebels in the middle part of Davao Oriental can be counted to 20. But we are monitoring their presence in the boundaries of Davao de Oro, Surigao del Sur, and Agusan del Sur,” he revealed.
Sequitin further disclosed that they are receiving fillers, proving intentions to surrender.
“We will be very happy to help them in their desire for a very desirable change in their lives. The Provincial Government will be giving them cash assistance for their livelihood. Bigger incentives await them if they surrender with their firearms,” he uttered in an attempt to entice more rebels to surrender.
As Davao Oriental is setting the phase in addressing barriers to peace and development, it is now imbued with the notion that in today’s modern approach, the ultimate goal now is no longer to win the war but winning the peace. Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan
