Davao City gov't to augment Army with 360 paramilitary troops

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 30): Davao City gov't to augment Army with 360 paramilitary troops

The city government here will augment the Philippine Army with 360 Specialized Cafgu Active Auxiliary (SCAA) to help secure remote areas from attacks by communists insurgents and other lawless elements.

Public Safety and Security Command Center Chief Benito de Leon said Wednesday the move is the city's response to the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to protect communities in the hinterlands from New People's Army (NPA) rebels.

De Leon said that three companies or 360 SCAA will be deployed for additional security in the city.

Just last week, the far-flung village of Suawan in Marilog District saw a series of attacks from NPA rebels. The armed clashes prompted hundreds of residents to leave their homes for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

"This is to answer the call of President Duterte to give priority to the insurgency here in the region. He required us to put a stop to it," de Leon said.

He said big establishments like those operating banana plantations can even hire SCAA in lieu of their security guard to put a stop on extortions and other threats to their companies.

De Leon, however, clarified that only those companies which are located in the outskirt areas are encouraged to form their own SCAA and not those in downtown area.

While the SCAA will be established by the city, their salary will be paid by the national government. According to him, the creation of SCAA will be covered by a soon-to-be issued Executive Order.

De Leon said the city has an existing SCAA under Task Force Davao.

They saw the need for additional SCAA to further enhance the security of the city and to ensure that the city center is safe from any insurgency.

"The military has requested that three companies be formed to help them protect the community in the remote areas of Davao City," he said.

He said the SCAA will also help the military and police in securing those areas that were already cleared by the security forces to ensure that the rebels will not return to these places.

De Leon said they will not let their guards down despite the low level of threat recorded by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).

"Despite the low threat level, our security elements have maintained a high threat level of security to maintain (peace and order) in the city," he said.

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