Thursday, September 12, 2019

Tboli declares communist-terrorist group as persona non grata

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 10, 2019): Tboli declares communist-terrorist group as persona non grata


LGU Tboli's declaration of the CPP-NPA-NDF as persona non grata on September 9 was capped by a motorcade participated by LGU officials and employees, members of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police and barangay officials. 

The CPP-NPA-NDF are unwelcome in the Municipality of Tboli in South Cotabato.

In a ceremony at the municipal covered court Monday, Tboli Mayor Dibu Tuan and other LGU officials made public Resolution No. 94 s. 2019 “Resolution Denouncing the Atrocities of Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and Declaring the Same as Persona-Non-Grata in the Municipality of Tboli, Province of South Cotabato” that the Sangguniang Bayan approved on August 13.

Members of the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Police, LGU employees and barangay officials were also present during the event.

The resolution cited that for years the communist terrorist group (CTG) has done atrocities in Tboli and neighboring municipalities including burning of heavy equipment owned by private contractors, extortions, recruitment of minors, and many other terrorist activities.

Mayor Tuan said, their declaration of the CTG as persona non grata is in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for a whole-of-nation approach to fight insurgency through EO 70.

“Without second thought we responded especially because our tribe has been prone to recruitment by the NPA. We believe that almost 90 percent of those recruited and those they deploy to the battlefield are from the tribes,” the mayor said.

More than 70 percent of the population of Tboli municipality is comprised of indigenous people.

In an interview with the Philippine Information Agency, Tuan opined that President Duterte's EO 70 is a reminder for LGUs to step up environmental protection, strengthen disaster preparedness and resiliency, and sustain delivery of basic services.

For LGU Tboli, the efforts to fight insurgency started prior to the issuance of EO 70 by ensuring that communities, especially those considered as geographically isolated and depressed areas (GIDAS), are provided basic services through the local government's DST Kariton Project, Mayor Tuan said

DST Kariton is an outreach activity where the LGU brings to residents in hard-to-reach villages needed government services such as medical-dental services, feeding program, civil registration, ans many others.

Other government agencies such as Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and others are also brought in to address the community’s concerns under their authority.

Education is also crucial in the fight against insurgency because indigenous people, especially those who are uneducated are easily swayed by the communist rebels, Mayor Tuan said.

“This is why we set aside P11 million specifically for free education from elementary to secondary level. We might not be able to change the older generation, but we hope that with proper education the younger generations are educated and will be protected from the recruitment by the NPA.”

Responding to the LGU’s declaration, 1Lt. Gen Adrian Gautane, commander of the Alpha Company of the 27th IB Philippine Army, said, “the declaration of CPP-NPA-NDF as persona non grata will have major impact on their operations, recruitment, and their other activities in the area.”

At present, the NPA’s operations in Tboli are mostly confined within the boundaries with Sarangani Province, General Santos City, and Polomolok, Gautane said.

He added that parts of Tboli only serve as “mobiling corridor” and that recruitment and other activities by the CTG in the area have waned because of military operations and LGU Tboli’s DST Kariton project.

Through the DST Kariton, residents receive services they need and learn that the government in reaching out to them, Gautabe said.

Mayor Tuan said that LGU Tboli's initiatives related to the whole-of-nation approach to end local armed conflict will be expanded to the grassroots and will involve barangay officials, sitio leaders, and tribal chieftains. (PIA XII)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027098

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