Kalinaw News: Former CTG NAMASUR Members to receive PRLEC Sustainable Livelihood Projects in Agusan Sur

From Kalinaw News (Mar 4, 2021): Former CTG NAMASUR Members to receive PRLEC Sustainable Livelihood Projects in Agusan Sur



BANCASI, Butuan City – Former members of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) organization, Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Agusan del Sur (NAMASUR), and now reorganized and renamed as Esperanza United Farmers Federation Association (EUFFA) will receive various livelihood projects from the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster of the Provincial Task Force in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) in Agusan del Sur during a meeting in the afternoon of March 02, 2021, at Piglawigan Mulit-purpose Hall, Brgy Piglawigan, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.

The meeting was spearheaded by the Municipal Council Member of Esperanza, Hon Erwin Dumaguing, the Peace and Order Committee Chairman, representing the LGU Esperanza, together with the Army’s 42nd CMO Company, 1st Lieutenant Ashley Del Rosario, under the operational control of the 402nd Infantry (Stingers) Brigade purposely to thresh out organizational issues and plan out sustainable livelihood projects and other interventions to be poured in by the LGU of Esperanza and other Local Government Agencies (LGAs) such as TESDA and DTI Agusan Sur to the EUFFA.

PRLEC Chairman and Provincial Director of Agusan del Sur, Director Lorenzo “Jojo” Guillermo, committed to facilitate different sustainable livelihood projects from different agencies of the PRLEC mainly from TESDA, DOLE, DTI and DA. He discussed the role of TESDA in helping the communities as part of the PRLEC and what the cluster can provide to benefit the farmers.

“Thank you for giving us this opportunity to help. We are really looking for an organization already accredited as people’s organization in a municipality and with DOLE. Trainings must commensurate to the needs of the communities and the available resources so that it will be sustainable and so that the trainings and other interventions will surely benefit the communities. As a start-up, TESDA will conduct agricultural training for Lemon Grass production while as PRLEC Chairman in the province, I can facilitate the programs of other member agencies for your federation”, Director Guillermo said.

Meanwhile, Hon Erwin Dumaguing discussed the issues and concerns of the 15 associations raised during the peace and order committee meeting. He said “The LGU in partnership with the Army will provide guidance to the members and ensure that they will be capacitated first with skills before the LGU will provide fund support. The organization is special because all agencies is giving special attention to you under the EO Nr 70”.

The EUFFA is the newly organized federation accredited by the Municipality of Esperanza as People’s Organization composed of fifteen (15) different associations from 15 Barangays of the municipality after its leaders and members withdrew their support to the Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa Agusan del Sur (NAMASUR) organization that was exposed as Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) legal front organization utilized as resource fund generation and as staging platform for potential recruits to become NPA members.

During the meeting, Ka Maria of GF21, NEMRC who surrendered to 36IB last 2018 provided a testimony and discussed her experiences as NAMASUR staff in the said municipality in 2015 while she was a student of the Philippine Normal University (PNU) in Agusan del Sur before she eventually joined as NPA fighter.

“Mangayo kog pasaylo sa tanan nga kadaut na akong nabuhat og ang akong paglinla kaninyo. Sama ninyu, ako usa ra pud ka biktima sa teroristang CPPNPANDF. Ako ang buhing testimonya nga ang NAMASUR usa ka legal front organization sa NPA. Nibalik ko diri human sa pipila ka tuiga human ako misurender na arun maghatag katin-awan sa tanan nga anaa pay pagduha duha mahitungod sa NAMASUR nga iya sa CPP-NPA-NDF”, Ka Maria or fondly called now as Chinchin said.

Ka Maria disclosed that she is the only one (1) alive out of the seven (7) youths recruited as NPA combatants and became regular members of GF21A from being a NAMASUR staff/organizer.

In his statement, Brigadier General Maurito L Licudine, Commander of the 402nd Brigade, said “We are thankful to the LGU of Esperanza for the active and unwavering support in our efforts against the CTG legal front organization that deceived and manipulated our farmers. We shall continuously coordinate with the LGU and to the PRLEC member agencies of the PTF-ELCAC Agusan Sur to ensure that appropriate interventions will be implemented for the benefit of the communities and address the issues utilized and exploited by the CTG”.

[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/former-ctg-namasur-members-to-receive-prlec-sustainable-livelihood-projects-in-agusan-sur/