Sarangani town enlists ex-rebels to help secure remote villages

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 10, 2020): Sarangani town enlists ex-rebels to help secure remote villages (By Richelyn Gubalani)

Malapatan, Sarangani Mayor Salway Sumbo Jr. (Photo courtesy of the municipal government)

Former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Malapatan town, Sarangani province are taking up arms anew not to fight the government but help secure their own communities.

Malapatan Mayor Salway Sumbo Jr. said Thursday that the local government has enlisted over 20 rebel returnees from the Blaan tribe to serve as peacekeepers in its upland barangays, especially those situated in the border areas.

Dubbed as “Kamlung Banwe,” a Blaan term for defenders, he said the unit was created in coordination with the Archers Alpha Company of the Philippine Army’s 73rd Infantry Battalion.

“They will serve as our territorial boundary forces and will help our troops in maintaining peace and order in our mountainous borders,” he said in a report.

Sumbo said the peacekeeping units would be deployed to help counter the movements of rebel forces and other armed groups operating in the area.

He said its members are from Barangays Kinam and Upper Suyan, which are situated at the town’s borders with Don Marcelino and Jose Abad Santos in Davao Occidental.

Sumbo said they have supplied the members of the peacekeeping unit with uniforms and initial food supplies.

As approved by the municipal council, he said its members will receive a monthly allowance from the local government.

Sumbo said the creation of the “Kamlung Banwe” was prioritized by the municipal government to strengthen its peace and order initiatives as well as support the development efforts in its upland and remote areas. It is also part of the town’s flagship “Serbisyong Segurado sa Kalinaw” program and the task force to end local communist armed conflict.

He lauded the rebel returnees for taking up the call and making sacrifices to protect and maintain peace in their communities.

The members of the Kamlung Banwe are former NPA combatants who surrendered in the area these past years and availed of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1124358