COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAM. A female soldier serves food to children during the conduct of a community support program in an upland village in Lope de Vega, Northern Samar. The activity aims to facilitate the government’s development programs with the army hearing issues and concerns of villagers and bringing them to the attention of concerned government offices. (Photo courtesy of Army 43rd Infantry Batallion)
The Philippine Army has initially identified 54 villages in the Samar provinces as priorities for the delivery of needed projects and services by the newly created regional task force on ending insurgency.
Brig. Gen. Eliezer Losañes, assistant commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said on Thursday that government agencies should immediately address the concerns of these communities to counter the influence of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“We have submitted the first batch of barangays (villages) and the corresponding issues that should be addressed by different clusters. We believe that we cannot end insurgency with just military operations. It needs a whole-(of)-nation approach,” Losañes told task force members during a workshop at the office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).
Of the 54 areas, 28 had been threatened by the terrorist group while 26 are vulnerable to armed struggle.
These villages are located in Can-avid and Dolores in Eastern Samar; Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Basey, San Jose de Buan, Gandara, Matuguinao, and Calbayog City in Samar; Las Navas, Mondragon, Lope de Vega, and Catarman in Northern Samar.
Government troops have come up with a list of needs through their community support program, an initiative of the military to facilitate the government’s development programs by hearing issues and concerns of villagers and bringing them to the attention of concerned government offices.
Among the issues raised were land titling, poor infrastructure, absence of water and electricity, poor health services, poor irrigation system, classroom shortage, lack of livelihood opportunities, poor access of farmers to market, high farming production costs, lack of toilet facilities, absence of post-harvest facilities, political discrimination, and the very low price of copra.
The list of specific areas and issues had been provided to concerned government agencies, which are members of the regional task force on ending local communist and armed conflict.
“Resolving these issues requires more resources. We cannot execute everything since there are long-term projects where other agencies are mandated to implement. The Philippine Army has no capability to solve all of these,” Losañes said.
The army official reminded government agencies to immediately act on these concerns to completely put an end to insurgency in Samar Island.
“If the government fails to deliver what is expected, it would be an opportunity for (the) NPA to find fault and encourage people in upland areas to join the rebellion,” he added.
Director of NEDA 8 (Eastern Visayas) Meylene Rosales was upbeat that through convergence efforts by the task force, the region would be able to resolve the decades-long insurgency.
“Peace and order should have tailor-made solutions with all government resources available. We were told to realign budget this year and propose a new budget for next year to attain our goals,” Rosales said.
The formation of the regional task force operationalizes Executive Order 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 4, 2018. The directive also institutionalizes a “whole-of-nation approach” in attaining an “inclusive and sustainable peace.”
Patterned after the national task force, the regional body is composed of heads of local offices of the departments of the interior and local government, justice, agriculture, defense, public works, budget, finance, agrarian reform, social welfare, and education, as well as the military, police and local communication offices.
Also listed as members were the regional or provincial heads of the NEDA, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, as well as two representatives of the private sector.
The CPP-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075482
Brig. Gen. Eliezer Losañes, assistant commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said on Thursday that government agencies should immediately address the concerns of these communities to counter the influence of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“We have submitted the first batch of barangays (villages) and the corresponding issues that should be addressed by different clusters. We believe that we cannot end insurgency with just military operations. It needs a whole-(of)-nation approach,” Losañes told task force members during a workshop at the office of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).
Of the 54 areas, 28 had been threatened by the terrorist group while 26 are vulnerable to armed struggle.
These villages are located in Can-avid and Dolores in Eastern Samar; Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Basey, San Jose de Buan, Gandara, Matuguinao, and Calbayog City in Samar; Las Navas, Mondragon, Lope de Vega, and Catarman in Northern Samar.
Government troops have come up with a list of needs through their community support program, an initiative of the military to facilitate the government’s development programs by hearing issues and concerns of villagers and bringing them to the attention of concerned government offices.
Among the issues raised were land titling, poor infrastructure, absence of water and electricity, poor health services, poor irrigation system, classroom shortage, lack of livelihood opportunities, poor access of farmers to market, high farming production costs, lack of toilet facilities, absence of post-harvest facilities, political discrimination, and the very low price of copra.
The list of specific areas and issues had been provided to concerned government agencies, which are members of the regional task force on ending local communist and armed conflict.
“Resolving these issues requires more resources. We cannot execute everything since there are long-term projects where other agencies are mandated to implement. The Philippine Army has no capability to solve all of these,” Losañes said.
The army official reminded government agencies to immediately act on these concerns to completely put an end to insurgency in Samar Island.
“If the government fails to deliver what is expected, it would be an opportunity for (the) NPA to find fault and encourage people in upland areas to join the rebellion,” he added.
Director of NEDA 8 (Eastern Visayas) Meylene Rosales was upbeat that through convergence efforts by the task force, the region would be able to resolve the decades-long insurgency.
“Peace and order should have tailor-made solutions with all government resources available. We were told to realign budget this year and propose a new budget for next year to attain our goals,” Rosales said.
The formation of the regional task force operationalizes Executive Order 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 4, 2018. The directive also institutionalizes a “whole-of-nation approach” in attaining an “inclusive and sustainable peace.”
Patterned after the national task force, the regional body is composed of heads of local offices of the departments of the interior and local government, justice, agriculture, defense, public works, budget, finance, agrarian reform, social welfare, and education, as well as the military, police and local communication offices.
Also listed as members were the regional or provincial heads of the NEDA, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, as well as two representatives of the private sector.
The CPP-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075482
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