MARIHATAG, Surigao del Sur, Dec. 20 -- “Despite any conflict, there is still a room for peace and love within everyone’s heart.”
This was the statement Lt. Colonel Joey Baybayan, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Special Forces “Arrowhead” Battalion, after the successful gift-giving activities in Kilometer 9, Diatagon, Lianga and in Caras-an, Tago, Surigao del Sur and in Magsaysay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur from December 14-17.
Sitio Supon of Barangay Magsaysay, Sitio Simowao (Kilometer 9), Diatagon and Barangay Caras-an are homes for Indigenous Peoples (IPs), mostly Manobo tribes. Caras-an is approximately 50 kilometers away from the municipality proper of Tago. All barangays are traditional routes of Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs).
“No road is long and no mountain is high if we are sincere to bring sustainable and genuine peace in these conflict-affected areas,” Lt. Col. Baybayan said.
The collaborative efforts of the various agencies and private organizations exemplified the Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The 7th Special Forces “Spartan” Company; 8th Special Forces “Dragoons” Company; 9th Special Forces “Hounds” Company; 41st CMO Company; PNP personnel; local government units (LGUs) of Prosperidad, Tago and Lianga; Philippine National Red Cross Agusan and Surigao del Sur Chapters; ACDI Multi-Purpose Cooperative; Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative; Armed Forces and Police Mutual Benefit Association, Inc (AFPMBAI); Rotary Club San Francisco Chapter; DSWD Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth; Propelling our Inherited Nation Through our Youth (POINTY) Agusan and Surigao del Sur Chapters; and the Bureau of Customs produced and distributed the goods, mostly toys, school supplies and Noche Buena packages to around 1,000 beneficiaries.
“There is no substitute for your families, we call on the remaining NPAs to surrender and think about their families. To live life in peace with your families despite the hardships in life is better than living with corrupt NPA leaders and terrorists because they never value family as they continually recruit minors and take them away from their parents,” Lt. Col. Baybayan ended.
Meanwhile, NPA terrorists attacked the government forces, civilians, including children, in an ambush last December 13 in Borongan, Eastern Samar, leaving 3 killed and 14 seriously injured. This caused the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to condemn the NPA terrorists and outraged the LGU of Borongan. NPA terrorists involved are allegedly minors and were recruited from various schools through alleged NPA-linked militant front groups and party lists. (Lt. Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan, 3SFBn/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
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