Army-LGU collaboration continues in fight vs insurgency

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 18, 2020): Army-LGU collaboration continues in fight vs insurgency

TALACOGON, Agusan del Sur, Sept. 18 – The municipality of San Luis, Agusan del Sur, together with the Army's 26th Infantry (Ever Onward) Battalion continues its collaboration in fighting insurgency during the conduct of Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) Meeting on September 17, 2020 at the municipal conference room.

To ensure the alignment of efforts between the military and LGU for the past months in ending the local communist armed conflict, both have shared and discussed the actions conducted to fulfill the said endeavor.

According to Charles V. Lim, the Municipal Local Government Operations Officer (MLGOO), the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) has focused on giving basic services on Conflict-Affected Areas (ConAAs) and Geographically Isolated barangays in order to counter the issues and propaganda that are being used and uttered by the Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs) in organizing and recruiting the locals to utilize them on CNT activities.

"During our immersion, besides on giving basic services to the locals, we also assisted the barangay councils on drafting the Barangay Development Plan of every affected barangay, and we prioritized on depicting their primary concerns on the said plan for endorsement to the national government and fund allotment next year," Lim said.

Likewise, Municipal Mayor Phoebe L. Corvera, once again embarked on her commitment to support the military especially on providing the essential needs and morale to the troops of 26IB. "As per EO70, we will be your partner on your intensified effort to defeat the communist insurgency in the area. For that, we will also exert more effort in order to address the root cause of insurgency in our municipality in order to pave the way for development especially on far-flung areas," she said.

Relatively, Lt. Col. Reynald Romel A. Goce, commanding officer of 26IB, appreciated the untiring support of LGU San Luis to the unit. He also emphasized the importance of unity among the line agencies in fighting the communist insurgents in the area. "Insurgency is not a mere responsibility of the military. We cannot address the needed programs and projects of the populace in which if not given attention, it will be used by the CNT to undermine the government to the people," he stated.

"With your help, we will continue to put pressure on the CNT because this will entice more surrenders and finally defeat the insurgency problem in our area," added Goce. (1Lt. Percivl Carido, CMO, 26IB/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1053601