ENDING INSURGENCY. Shown in photo is Department of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año during the launching of the Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Negros Oriental at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in Dumaguete City on Wednesday (Aug. 14, 2019). He called on the rebels to voluntarily surrender as he noted very good government packages and privileges that they can avail of. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Wednesday called for the all-out support of different government agencies to the fight against the decades-old insurgency of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
Año was the guest speaker in the twin activities here dubbed “People’s Dialogue: A Conversation with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año” and the launching of the Negros Oriental Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) held at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in this city.
Also present during the events were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
In his message, Año urged government agencies and other stakeholders to help stop the more than five decades of “abuses by the NPA”.
“This decades-old unrest has been considered as a mere military or law enforcement concern and there is an evident lack of support among our government agencies,” he pointed out.
Año said poverty as cause of insurgency is no longer a valid excuse because there are other countries that have many poor people, yet there is no communist threat at all.
In fact, some of these countries' governments are corrupt but insurgency is not one of their concerns, he said.
Año explained that this is because of the absence of what they call the “elements of insurgency” to include leadership, armed group, and underground mass organization, among others.
Meanwhile, two former rebel-members of the NPA have received financial assistance from the government through the DILG under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration (E-CLIP) program of the government.
Año led the handing over of the DILG-Administered Assistance Package to the beneficiaries, whose identities were withheld for security reasons. The former rebels received PHP65,000 each from the government in the form of checks from the Land Bank of the Philippines, while Governor Roel Degamo also gave his personal financial assistance of PHP10,000 each.
Meanwhile, the People’s Dialogue with the DILG chief allowed participants to interact with him in a brief question and answer portion.
Afterward came the covenant signing for the “Dagyawan ng Bayan” by representatives of the government agencies and the private sector.
During the dialogue, Bayawan City Mayor Henry Pryde Teves suggested sending a unit from the Army Engineering Brigade to the province to ensure that roads and other infrastructure projects are safely built.
He noted that private contractors are fearful of undertaking projects particularly in conflict areas because of the insurgency threat, citing incidents of burning of some heavy equipment allegedly by NPA rebels.
During an interview with the media afterward, Año called on the rebels to voluntarily surrender as there are very good government packages and privileges offered to them.
The DILG Secretary noted that President Duterte wants insurgency to end before he finishes his term in 2022.
All of the government’s resources are ready for this and are included in the 2020 budget to be used in projects such as the building of roads, bridges and schools, among others, he said.
The twin activities marked the start of the formal collaboration among government agencies and the private sector to end the Communist insurgency in the province through the concept of the Whole of Nation Approach (WON) under Executive Order No. 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Also in attendance were key military and police officials led by Maj. Gen. Dinoh A. Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army; Lt. Gen. Noel S. Clement, chief of the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, Regional Director of the Police Regional Office-7; and Brig. Gen. Ignacio Madriaga of the 302nd Brigade of the Philippine Army, based in Negros Oriental; heads of national government agencies; provincial and local officials; and other stakeholders.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077936
Año was the guest speaker in the twin activities here dubbed “People’s Dialogue: A Conversation with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año” and the launching of the Negros Oriental Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) held at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in this city.
Also present during the events were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
In his message, Año urged government agencies and other stakeholders to help stop the more than five decades of “abuses by the NPA”.
“This decades-old unrest has been considered as a mere military or law enforcement concern and there is an evident lack of support among our government agencies,” he pointed out.
Año said poverty as cause of insurgency is no longer a valid excuse because there are other countries that have many poor people, yet there is no communist threat at all.
In fact, some of these countries' governments are corrupt but insurgency is not one of their concerns, he said.
Año explained that this is because of the absence of what they call the “elements of insurgency” to include leadership, armed group, and underground mass organization, among others.
Meanwhile, two former rebel-members of the NPA have received financial assistance from the government through the DILG under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration (E-CLIP) program of the government.
Año led the handing over of the DILG-Administered Assistance Package to the beneficiaries, whose identities were withheld for security reasons. The former rebels received PHP65,000 each from the government in the form of checks from the Land Bank of the Philippines, while Governor Roel Degamo also gave his personal financial assistance of PHP10,000 each.
Meanwhile, the People’s Dialogue with the DILG chief allowed participants to interact with him in a brief question and answer portion.
Afterward came the covenant signing for the “Dagyawan ng Bayan” by representatives of the government agencies and the private sector.
During the dialogue, Bayawan City Mayor Henry Pryde Teves suggested sending a unit from the Army Engineering Brigade to the province to ensure that roads and other infrastructure projects are safely built.
He noted that private contractors are fearful of undertaking projects particularly in conflict areas because of the insurgency threat, citing incidents of burning of some heavy equipment allegedly by NPA rebels.
During an interview with the media afterward, Año called on the rebels to voluntarily surrender as there are very good government packages and privileges offered to them.
The DILG Secretary noted that President Duterte wants insurgency to end before he finishes his term in 2022.
All of the government’s resources are ready for this and are included in the 2020 budget to be used in projects such as the building of roads, bridges and schools, among others, he said.
The twin activities marked the start of the formal collaboration among government agencies and the private sector to end the Communist insurgency in the province through the concept of the Whole of Nation Approach (WON) under Executive Order No. 70 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Also in attendance were key military and police officials led by Maj. Gen. Dinoh A. Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army; Lt. Gen. Noel S. Clement, chief of the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, Regional Director of the Police Regional Office-7; and Brig. Gen. Ignacio Madriaga of the 302nd Brigade of the Philippine Army, based in Negros Oriental; heads of national government agencies; provincial and local officials; and other stakeholders.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1077936
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