Ambush of 2 KALAHI-CIDSS field workers, a case of mistaken identity

From the Philippine Information Agency (Dec 9): Ambush of 2 KALAHI-CIDSS field workers, a case of mistaken identity

The recent ambush of two Kalahi-CIDDs community facilitators in Samar is a case of mistaken identity. This was the conclusion reached by members of the Team Area Coordinator, the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the two community facilitators were wearing incognito helmets and jackets and were not wearing any identification that they were from DSWD Kalahi-CIDDS when they were fired upon by unidentified armed men on their way to their official station in San Jose de Buan, Samar. Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 8 Director Leticia Diokno identified the community facilitators as Renato Dacaymat, 49, and Harvey John Abelido, 24. They were on board a motorcycle with Abelido driving when they were ambushed. Abelido got a scratch on his left face near his jaw. Dacaymat, on the other hand, was not hurt.

Col. Cerilo Balaoro, Battalion Commander of the 87th Infantry Division, also considers the incident as a provocative act, a test of the “lawless elements” provoking the military troops since there is a newly installed detachment camp near the barangay where the incident happened. The incident has also prompted the DSWD to strengthen its staff security, said Diokno. “We (DSWD) strengthened our staff’s security through our partners in the military, the PNP and the local government unit (LGU) themselves, ” Diokno said, adding that after the incident, the Mayor immediately called a crisis management team meeting to discuss what the intention or motives were behind the incident.”

The San Jose de Buan LGU scheduled a meeting on December 14, 2012 to review and discuss the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) resolution on their commitment for the safety of DSWD field workers, Diokno said. “The meeting will involve all the barangay leaders and will tackle what security measures they can give to our staff, otherwise, without such, definitely the instruction of Secretary Dinky Soliman is to pull out from San Jose de Buan,” Diokno added. “We do not want our staff nor the project to be in a disadvantaged situation,” Diokno emphasized.

The two field workers are stationed in the municipal office and were advised to take all instructions from there. The Area Coordinator was instructed to facilitate all necessary coordination with the PNP, AFP and the Local Chief Executive (LCE) for safety measures. The Regional Office will also facilitate immediate procurement of vests with DSWD logo for all field workers of the department, not only for Kalahi-CIDSS, but also Pantawid, and the Sustainable Livelihood for proper identification. Kalahi-CIDSS is a community-driven development (CDD) poverty alleviation project of the government spearheaded by DSWD. It aims to empower the community, improve local governance, and reduce poverty.

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1141354878423