Leni must do immersion to grasp NTF-ELCAC gains: youth group

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 11, 2021): Leni must do immersion to grasp NTF-ELCAC gains: youth group (By Alexander Lopez)

Vice President Leni Robredo. (File photo)

A youth group in Caraga Region on Thursday urged Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo to undergo immersion in the grassroots to see the impact of the undertakings implemented through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Propelling Our Inherited Nation Through our Youth (POINTY) Inc., through a regional member of its Board of Trustees Girlie Tiambong, issued the challenge after Robredo, who is running for president in the 2022 national and local polls, said she would abolish the NTF-ELCAC if elected to the country's highest post.

Tiambong, a member of the Mamanwa tribe from Alegria, Surigao del Norte, told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday that the NTF-ELCAC has shielded the youth, especially those living in indigenous people (IP) communities, from the influence and recruitment of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) members.

“We were able to forge partnerships with the different line agencies of the government, the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police, through the NTF-ELCAC in reaching far-flung IP communities to save our young generation from NPA recruitment, and have provided them with alternatives, through the different programs and services of the government, to ensure their good future,” Tiambong said.

She noted that in her town of Alegria, five IP communities are considered as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas or GIDAs.

The NTF-ELCAC is the prime mover of Executive Order No. 70 (EO 70) which mandates the implementation of a whole-of-nation approach in bringing government programs and services to the remotest communities, including those in the Caraga Region.

She said that the convergence of the different agencies, with the support of the local TF-ELCACs in the regional, provincial, and municipal levels, has brought government services right to the communities that were once considered inaccessible and deprived of basic services for years due to the presence of the communist rebels.

“The youth also benefited directly from the convergence of services as their awareness was raised through the different information drives that the NTF-ELCAC facilitated in the communities. The NTF-ELCAC, the agencies, and we in POINTY saved hundreds of youths in Caraga Region from the recruitment of the rebels,” Tiambong said.

She also emphasized that the NTF-ELCAC has given IP communities a new perspective of government services.

“(In the past), the agencies usually ask the tribes and their leaders to go down to the centers to listen to lectures on government programs and services then they send them back to their communities. Now, under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, through the EO 70 and the NTF-ELCAC, people from various government agencies go to remote communities not only to provide services but to immerse and grasp the real situation of the people,” Tiambong said.

Glynmer Jamito, a member of the board of trustees of POINTY Agusan del Norte, also echoed Tiambong’s call to Vice President Robredo.

“She needs to (go) down to the communities to see and feel how the NTF-ELCAC and the EO70 made significant changes in the lives of the people, especially the youth,” Jamito said.

He added that NTF-ELCAC interventions, through its provincial task force in Agusan del Norte, have greatly helped the POINTY reach out to more members of the youth.

“We are glad of extending our programs and services to remote communities in the province and saving a more young generation from the influence of the NPA rebels. We were able to enter the communities, stayed there for days to do sharing, discussions, and information drives through the help and support of the Provincial Task Force ELCAC, the Army and government agencies,” Jamito said.

POINTY, Inc. is a nationwide youth organization - through its regional, provincial and municipal affiliates - that promotes peace and engages government agencies through collaborations in facilitating programs and services to the youths.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1159450