Kalinaw News: CSP, the ultimate weapon in defeating the NPA in Northern Luzon

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 12, 2021): CSP, the ultimate weapon in defeating the NPA in Northern Luzon



CAMP AQUINO, TARLAC CITY- Northern Luzon Command revealed that the unprecedented influx of rebel surrenders in Northern and Central Luzon is attributed to their on-going massive community support program (CSP) activities.

CSP is a flagship program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) used to clear the community of NPA infestation while neutralizing the politico-military structure the rebels established in the barangay. It involves immersion of personnel in the identified barangays and the conduct of various community engagements geared towards addressing the needs of the people.

Per NOLCOM’s record, for the 1st part of CY 2021, 101 CSP Teams have been deployed to 101 NPA-infested barangays, while another 18 CSP Teams will be deployed to 18 barangays in the latter part of the year.

The deployment of CSP Teams allowed the security forces, local government units, and other government agencies to effectively implement localized peace engagements by establishing a line of communication with the identified family members and loved ones of the communist rebels, who on their part become key communicators during the negotiations.

It can be recalled that on September 15 through CSP, seven combat-weary communist rebels surrendered to government troops in Baggao, Cagayan and yielded all of their seven high-powered firearms. At present, NOLCOM recorded a total of 655 communist rebels who returned to the government fold and yielded a total of 273 firearms from 01 January 2021 to date. These are apart from the 780 members of NPA-affiliated mass organizations who withdrew their support from the terrorist group.

NOLCOM Chief Lieutenant General Arnulfo Marcelo B Burgos Jr emphasized that ‘instead of focusing solely on the conventional military approach’, they are working on addressing the issues that are being exploited by the communist rebels to deceive the community folks and gain their support through the community support program which serves as their ultimate weapon in defeating the communist terrorists.

Lieutenant General Burgos stressed that “CSP allows the government to send its message of peace and reconciliation to the communist rebels through their friends and families in the community. This gives us the opportunity to address their grievances while encouraging them to return to mainstream society.”

Lieutenant General Burgos also emphasized that, “CSP serves as a bridge that brings the government closer to the people in far-flung communities, which are often the target of exploitation by the communist terrorists. With the CSP, we were able to assist government agencies in the delivery of needed basic services and in the implementation of different government programs and projects that will allow development to gain traction to those affected communities.”

For this year, 18 barangays in Northern and Central Luzon were each granted 20M development fund for the implementation of several community development projects under the Barangay Development Program (BDP). The BDP is a program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF – ELCAC) that is anchored on the CSP of the AFP. These 18 barangays were previously considered NPA-infested but were already declared free from the clutches of the terrorist group by NOLCOM.

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https://www.kalinawnews.com/csp-the-ultimate-weapon-in-defeating-the-npa-in-northern-luzon/