TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 21 (PIA) -- The governor of Leyte province has appreciated the creation of a task force that seeks to end local communist armed conflict (TF-ELCAC), because it has a cluster composed of national government agencies dedicated on poverty-reduction, among other clusters.
At a yearender press conference participated by practicing journalists from all over Eastern Visayas region, Leyte Gov. Dominic Petilla repeatedly stated that the solution to overcome the problem on home-grown rebellion is to bring the battle right to its root cause which is poverty.
“To win insurgency, let’s fight poverty,” Petilla firmly declared at the “Panginsayod” media forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) held at Hotel Lorenza, this city Friday, Dec. 20, with Erlinda Olivia Tiu, PIA regional director, as the moderator.
Other guests were Boni Cebrian, regional director of the national intelligence and coordinating agency (NICA), and Reynaldo Aragones, a public affairs officer of the Philippine Army based in Catbalogan City.
When asked if the TF-ELCAC scheme has reached down to the barangay level in the municipalities, Petilla said he has closely coordinated with the municipalities, and the towns in turn touched base with the barangays.
The governor pointed out that the local government units are at the frontliners on TF-ELCAC implementation, from provinces, municipalities, and barangays, with full support of the poverty-reduction cluster, a convergence of national government agencies that have mandated programs on helping poor individuals or communities, such as TESDA, DOLE, DTI, DOST, among others.
In fact, in one of those convergence gathering in Baybay City gym last October, Petilla reported that he had trekked to far-flung areas and known territories of NPAs in Inopacan, Hindang, and Baybay, and during the program he distributed financial assistance so the communities can start or enhance their livelihood.
“Hindi ko alam whether NPA sila o hindi -- we sit down and talk,” Petilla said in his opening remarks.
But he emphasized that even before the TF-ELCAC whole-of-nation approach under President Duterte’s Executive Order 70 which started in November last year, the Leyte provincial government has pushed the Leyte Economics Program since he came into office since 2013.
Especially after the devastation caused by Yolanda, the Leyte Economics Program has evolved as the right recipe, for it integrated several governance items into a holistic approach to development as a lasting effort to wipe out poverty and want.
These included infrastructure to back up livelihood in remote places, reduction of malnutrition, protection of environment, peace and security programs, social development programs on violence against women and children, youth, and social services on health and education.
On the question on how was the impact of Leyte economics felt, Petilla cited the presence of large companies investing in municipalities instead of cities, the reduction of poverty incidence as per NEDA report, zero malnutrition in barangays reached with opened roads, and the noted increase in the number of farmers -- the only region in the country having such a record.
“I am more on Information Technology (IT), but I focused more on agriculture,” the governor further said. (mmp/PIA8-Southern Leyte)
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