The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) lauded the
Provincial Peace, Integration and Development Unit (Pro-PIDU) of Negros
Occidental for being an “indispensable partner” of the military in attaining
just and lasting peace in the province.
Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, AFP chief of staff, said in his
report that the more than two-year-old Pro-PIDU, of which the 303rd Infantry
Brigade (IB) is a member, is spearheading the campaign on the root causes of
insurgency in the province by adopting a system approach towards sustainable
peace building through the transformation of communities in different
dimensions of conflict – personal, relational, structural and cultural.
“It has become a very important network in the aspect of
institutionalizing dialogue spaces where local stakeholders in the province
meet and collaborate to confer, peace, integration and development programs or
initiatives of the provincial government,” Catapang added.
The programs of Pro-PIDU, chaired by Gov. Alfredo Marañon
Jr., include the “marching for peace, serving the countryside,” with conflict
affected communities in the first and fifth districts of Negros Occidental as
beneficiaries, and the Negros First-Army Wellmess Program of the 303rd Infantry
Brigade, which helps rebel returnees and their families.
The provincial government provided Php 5 million to the
Wellness Program that adopts an integrated organic farming system, produces
organic vegetables, and raises poultry and livestock.
The Negros First-Army Wellness Farm, with the 2.5-hectare
pilot area first established within a military camp in Murcia
A similar farm will also be established soon in the fifth
and sixth districts of Negros Occidental, said Col. Jon Aying, commander of the
303rd IB.
Aying said the wellness farm is one of the non-traditional
innovations implemented by the 303rd IB to win the peace in Negros Occidental,
with former rebels among its primary beneficiaries.
In his report, Catapang also said that in order to deliver
the final decisive blow against armed insurgents, they have utterly shifted
their strategy from the traditional dimension of combat operations giving equal
emphasis to combat and non-combat aspects of their military operations.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=716769
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