SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS. More than a thousand residents from tribal communities in the towns of Lianga and Tago in Surigao del Sur receive gifts from the Army's 3rd Special Forces Battalion and support groups during the three-day Christmas activity conducted from December 14 to 17 this year. The Army unit says the recipients live in areas affected by armed conflicts brought by the presence of communist rebels. (Photo courtesy of 3SFBn Civil-Military Operations Office)
The Philippine Army based in Surigao del Sur conducted Christmas outreach in several Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities in the province through a series of gift-giving activities this week.
“No road is long and no mountain is high if we are sincere to bring sustainable and genuine peace in these conflict-affected areas,” said Lt. Col. Joey B. Baybayan, commander of the Army's 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3SFBn), in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The 3SFBn December 14-17 gift-giving activities benefited residents of the Manobo communities in Sitio Supon, Barangay Magsaysay and Sitio Simowao (Kilometer 9), Barangay Diatagon in the town of Lianga, and in Caras-an in the municipality of Tago, Baybayan said.
“These villages are affected by communist conflicts and considered as traditional routes of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the area,” the Army official said.
During the three-day activities, Baybayan said government troopers had the chance to immerse themselves with the IP communities "through gift-giving, sharing of food, provision of school supplies to children, distribution of goods and noche buena packages to IP households, and the giving of toys to children."
More than 1,000 members of the Manobo tribe directly benefited from the three-day activity, he added.
Baybayan also expressed gratitude to different government agencies and private organizations that supported the Army's outreach activities.
“The collaborative efforts of the various agencies and private organizations exemplified the "whole-of-nation" approach of the government to finally end the local communist conflicts in Surigao del Sur, particularly in IP communities,” he said.
Among the government entities that provided support to the activity are the local government units (LGUs) of Lianga and Tago, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The private organizations that participated in the activity include Philippine Red Cross chapters of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, the Rotary Club of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, and the Propelling our Inherited Nation Through our Youth (POINTY) Agusan and Surigao del Sur Chapters.
Baybayan also thanked the 7th Special Forces Company, 8th Special Forces Company, 9th Special Forces Company, the 41st CMO Company, and the Philippine National Police for the support they provided to the activity.
Meanwhile, 1Lt. Krisjuper Andreo J. Punsalan, 3SFBn civil-military operations officer, told Philippine News Agency that a Christmas-related activity was also conducted on Thursday (December 19) in Sitio Hugmakan, Barangay San Juan, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.
Punsalan Sitio Hugmakan, a conflict-affected area in Bayugan City, has 45 households with more than 60 children.
“Our troops also distributed goods to households, toys and school supplies to IP children,” Punsalan said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089118
“No road is long and no mountain is high if we are sincere to bring sustainable and genuine peace in these conflict-affected areas,” said Lt. Col. Joey B. Baybayan, commander of the Army's 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3SFBn), in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The 3SFBn December 14-17 gift-giving activities benefited residents of the Manobo communities in Sitio Supon, Barangay Magsaysay and Sitio Simowao (Kilometer 9), Barangay Diatagon in the town of Lianga, and in Caras-an in the municipality of Tago, Baybayan said.
“These villages are affected by communist conflicts and considered as traditional routes of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the area,” the Army official said.
During the three-day activities, Baybayan said government troopers had the chance to immerse themselves with the IP communities "through gift-giving, sharing of food, provision of school supplies to children, distribution of goods and noche buena packages to IP households, and the giving of toys to children."
More than 1,000 members of the Manobo tribe directly benefited from the three-day activity, he added.
Baybayan also expressed gratitude to different government agencies and private organizations that supported the Army's outreach activities.
“The collaborative efforts of the various agencies and private organizations exemplified the "whole-of-nation" approach of the government to finally end the local communist conflicts in Surigao del Sur, particularly in IP communities,” he said.
Among the government entities that provided support to the activity are the local government units (LGUs) of Lianga and Tago, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The private organizations that participated in the activity include Philippine Red Cross chapters of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, the Rotary Club of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, and the Propelling our Inherited Nation Through our Youth (POINTY) Agusan and Surigao del Sur Chapters.
Baybayan also thanked the 7th Special Forces Company, 8th Special Forces Company, 9th Special Forces Company, the 41st CMO Company, and the Philippine National Police for the support they provided to the activity.
Meanwhile, 1Lt. Krisjuper Andreo J. Punsalan, 3SFBn civil-military operations officer, told Philippine News Agency that a Christmas-related activity was also conducted on Thursday (December 19) in Sitio Hugmakan, Barangay San Juan, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.
Punsalan Sitio Hugmakan, a conflict-affected area in Bayugan City, has 45 households with more than 60 children.
“Our troops also distributed goods to households, toys and school supplies to IP children,” Punsalan said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089118
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