LINGIG, Surigao del Sur – More than 800 residents of a remote village here benefited from the service caravan organized by various government agencies under the provincial task force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) over the weekend.
Sunday's service caravan in Rajah Cabungsoan, an upland village situated in the boundaries of the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental, brought medical, livelihood, and various forms of assistance from the government as part of the Executive Order 70, which institutes a "whole-of-nation approach" to address the communist insurgency in the countryside.
Around 90 percent of the more than a thousand residents in the area belong to the Manobo tribe who reside in the village's 15 sitios, according to Barangay Captain Elesia Gay-od.
Reaching the village was a daunting task as it is only connected to the town center through 49-kilometer unpaved, muddy road. The road condition is too bad that it can only be accessed by big hauler trucks, single motorcycles, and four-wheel drive vehicles.
Gay-od welcomed the service caravan and expressed gratitude to Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel and Lingig Mayor Roberto Luna Jr. who led the various national government agencies and government forces in delivering basic services to the residents.
“Despite the difficult road condition, the government is here to see our situation and give us the necessary services,” Gay-od told the residents during her welcome address.
Pimentel vowed to "prioritize the upgrading of the access road to Rajah Cabungsoan,” and ordered the Provincial Engineering Office to immediately conduct pre-construction assessment.
The governor also heard the clamor of the residents particularly on water supply for household and agricultural use.
Pimentel pointed out that Rajah Cabungsoan remains a conflict-affected area "that needs direct and immediate development intervention from the government."
Gayod said the proposed upgrading of the village's road network will help farmers deliver their products to the market centers in Lingig and other areas in Surigao del Sur.
She noted that farming remains the residents' primary source of living.
DIRECT SERVICE. A staff from the Provincial Health Office in Surigao del Sur conducts a medical checkup on a senior citizen, one of the more than 800 residents of Barangay Rajah Cabungsoan, Lingig town, who received government interventions during the service caravan on Sunday (Feb. 23, 2020). The activity is part of the government's initiative to bring basic services to areas prone to armed conflicts brought by the communist insurgency. (PNA photo by Alexander Lopez)
A resident, Cristina M. Cortez, underscored the importance of government support to the village's farming livelihood.
“Our main source of living is upland farming. We plant upland rice. There are times that we only harvest once a year especially when rodents would attack our rice plants," Cortez, 56, told the Philippine News Agency on Sunday.
She added that most of their harvest is used for family consumption as the road condition makes it difficult to transport their produce to the town center.
“It’s very expensive to deliver our farm products to the market. The motorcycle fare from our barangay to Lingig town range from PHP800 to PHP1,000. During the rainy season, motorcycle fare reaches as high as PHP1,500,” she said.
Meanwhile, Pimentel told the residents that service caravan was part of the concerted efforts of the different agencies of the government to end the armed conflicts brought by the communist insurgents in the area.
"Winning the peace through development interventions," the governor said, was "not only the work of the Army and the PNP" but also of all government offices, the local government units, and with the support of the people."
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1094736
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