Army conducts civil military operations, peace fora

From the Leyte Samar Daily Express (Jan 10): Army conducts civil military operations, peace fora

The military troopers operating in Leyte is conducting civil-military operations in the countryside as part of their campaign against insurgency in the area, the military commander told media here. Colonel Rafael Valencia, 802nd brigade commander, 8th infantry division, Philippine Army, based here, told reporters in an interview that his brigade is also focusing on civil-military operations aside from the usual military operations in solving the insurgency problem in his area of operation.

Valencia said that his brigade is conducting “peace operations” like bayanihan, in the villages wherein the soldiers are doing community projects for the people in the localities. “My brigade is initiating or establishing community projects in the barangays as part of our campaign for peace and to solve insurgency problem in our area of operation.”

Valencia informed reporters that the civil-military operations of his brigade are part of their strategies to win the hearts and minds of the people in the localities and for them to support the government’s efforts for peace. He added that in conducting the peace operations especially in the hinterlands or remote villages, his brigade is also looking forward to win back the rebels and their supporters to the folds of the law.

Valencia informed reporters that one of the battalions under his brigade, the 19th Infantry Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Alejandro Nacnac, based in Kananga town, has already conducted 35 insurgency awareness symposia, 17 peace fora, 5 medical missions, 10 feeding programs for the children, 7 tree planting activities, 6 blood letting and 2 youth leaders’ summit in this city and in the municipalities of Villaba, Carigara and Jaro. He added that the peace operations is a continuing program of his brigade and “more towns in Leyte will become the beneficiaries of our community programs for 2013.”

http://leytesamardaily.net/2013/01/army-conducts-civil-military-operations-peace-fora/