REACHING OUT. Children of Supanga Village, Calinog town, Iloilo receive educational materials from Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara, commander of the Philippine Army's 61IB on Friday (Aug. 30, 2019). 1Lt. Hazel Joy Durotan said people in far-flung villages were grateful for the help facilitated by the Army's Community Support Program (CSP) teams. (Photo courtesy of 61IB)
ILOILO CITY -- Supanga village in Calinog town, Iloilo has started to benefit from the Philippine Army’s Community Support Program (CSP) deployment as the village was visited by the government’s all-in-one mission last Friday.
In an interview Monday, 1Lt. Hazel Joy Durotan, information officer of the Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB), said the CSP team had facilitated the entry of medical and dental civic action program (MEDCAP), "Pulong-Pulong," feeding and gift-giving activity in Supanga village.
Supanga is among the five villages in Calinog town where CSP teams were deployed in July this year.
Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara, commander of the 61IB, has identified Supanga as an “influence” village of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). He described Calinog town as the “mobility corridor” which rebels use as a passageway from time to time.
“They influence the people and sometimes they recruit their men from the villages,” he said.
Durotan, meanwhile, said that around 500 residents of Supanga and its adjacent villages had benefited from the mission.
The residents availed of free health services, free haircuts for women, and free circumcision and feeding for kids.
Each resident also received packs which contain a kilo of rice, noodles, sardines, vegetable seeds, and clothes.
Supanga Elementary School, on the other hand, was given free coloring books, crayons, and vitamins for its pupils.
Bringing of government’s services to the grassroots is part of the whole-of-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict, she noted.
“The people can see that the program is not only undertaken by the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police alone. We also have representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others, that also showed the residents that they are also ready to hear their concerns,” Durotan said.
Durotan said the services provided by the government in Supanga will be brought to other villages with CSP deployment.
These are the villages of Guinbonyugan, Binolosan Grande, Binolosan Pequeño and Manaripay, also in Calinog town.
In a statement on Sept. 1, Batara expressed his gratitude to stakeholders who helped in serving far-flung villages.
"To end local communists armed conflict, we must be aware that they are targeting the far-flung barangays, and we need to be partners for peace, work together -- for future generations, let us secure our youngsters," he said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1079336
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