PH Army to strengthen info drives vs CTGs

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jun 14, 2024): PH Army to strengthen info drives vs CTGs (By:PIA CALABARZON)

CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) — The 2nd Civil-Military Operations Regiment Battalion (CMOR) of the Philippine Army has intensified efforts to counter the propaganda of communist terrorist groups (CTGs) through enhanced community information and awareness campaigns.

In an interview with the Philippine Information Agency’s radio program Usapang PIA, 2CMO commander Lt. Col. Rolando Acido emphasized the importance of community information awareness in preventing youth recruitment by communist terrorist groups and bolstering support for the government’s initiatives to curb insurgency.

“We (CMOR) have been giving the knowledge to young people, because as youth they are very inquisitive, but there are other groups that because we are very eager, very inquisitive, our youthful efforts want to be poisoned for their own sake, their own interests,” he said.

2CMO goes to different secondary schools in Laguna to provide lectures regarding the critical role of information and education in countering insurgency and highlighting the Philippine Army’s commitment to safeguarding the youth and promoting peace and order in the country.

Afterwards, students were given a chance to interact with the troops, allowing them to seek clarifications and a deeper understanding of the issues discussed.

Recently, with the support of the local government of Los Baños and Senior Division Heads, visited a senior high school campus in the town to deliver lectures as part of their community information awareness campaign.

One of the student participants remarked that the event significantly helped them learn more about the Philippine Army and its efforts to protect and serve the community and bridge the gap between the military and the civilian population, particularly the youth, by providing education, fostering engagement, and encouraging active participation in community and national security efforts.

“The event helped me to know what the Philippine Army is, and that we shouldn’t be afraid of them because they are protecting us from the terrorist groups that might poison our minds. In that way, we know how to seek help from them in case such things will happen” the student-participant said.

In addition, Acido encourages parents to actively participate in community information awareness campaigns as their roles are crucial in preventing insurgent groups’ recruitment of their children.

He said: “I am also calling on my fellow parents to monitor the activities of our children, it is our role and responsibility as a parent to be fulfilled, there is no reason for us to be far from our family or we are busy with their work, we deny our attention to our children.”

Aside from the youth empowerment forum in the academe, 2CMO organizes a youth leadership summit designed to further empower youth leaders by equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to become proactive members of their communities, resist insurgent influences, and promote broad community engagement.

Asido then assured that their troops are always open to discussing matters and helping people with their needs, emphasizing that they must protect and serve the community.

“We are happy and we are open 24/7, Monday to Sunday, whoever wants to talk to us, contact us, let’s go to the right agency of our government as we can see that our leaders are very active in various government agencies, they are ready to respond to the needs of our countrymen to raise their socio and economic level,” he stated. (PIA-4A)

Usapang PIA is a weekly radio program hosted by the Philippine Information Agency Laguna. It is broadcasted every Friday, from 11:00 am to 11:30 am on DZJV 1458 kHz Radyo Calabarzon and streamed live on the Philippine Information Agency CALABARZON and PIA Laguna Facebook pages.

https://www.pia.gov.ph/ph-army-to-strengthen-info-drives-vs-ctgs/