Roads connecting remote barangays could help end 5-decade era of local insurgency

From the Philippine Information Agency (Feb 22, 2021): Roads connecting remote barangays could help end 5-decade era of local insurgency (By Samuel D. Candido)

BORONGAN CITY, Feb 22 (PIA) – By providing accessibility to government programs and services with passable roads and bridges, the fifty years of the CPP-NPA insurgency in Eastern Samar particularly in the City of Borongan could possibly come to an end.

This was the firm standpoint of City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan C. Agda in a recent virtual conference with the other members of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC) chaired by Governor Ben P. Evardone.

In his presentation, Mayor Agda stressed that one reason which continuously divides between and amongst people in far communities, is the inaccessibility to basic government services.

The City Mayor cited in Barangay Pinanag-an, this city, with more than a thousand households. This remotest barangay is about a three-hour motorboat ride from the wharf in Borongan and before reaching the place, about five more barangays are passed through.

He further said, to recall, sometime in 2019 a bloody encounter between the government troops and the CPP/NPAs transpired in this remote barangay, which ended up in the loss of lives of several soldiers with their comrades severely wounded as well.

This was followed with another ambush of a civilian vehicle in a nearby poblacion barangay which killed a number of civilians and a policeman and some others left wounded.

“People from remote barangays need us, people in the government. They need interventions, but all our planned interventions will be limited to none if we can hardly reach them, and if their needs remain unabated, resentment, division could prevail,” he added.

Government has been in constant battle with the NPA insurgents and hundreds of peace talks have been made while innocent and helpless civilians are sometimes involved. Apparently, some issues have yet to be addressed, particularly the problem of the inaccessibility to government services.

For the Borongan City Government, Mayor Agda presented one poverty alleviation program, the “Dukwag Agrikultura” (DA) which was approved recently by the City Council, with program components aimed to improve the economic standing of marginalized farmers.

However, he said, many of the identified agricultural farms are located in insurgency-laden communities, which in one way or another hamper production.

“With the construction of needed roads and bridges, perhaps, some peace and order issues can be addressed eventually,” he stressed.

To fulfill an earlier promise to the rural folks in the upstream barangays, Mayor Agda has lined up, a number of road opening projects, in his strong desire to improve the living condition of most of them, by providing better access to basic skills trainings and livelihood, medical and other social services, including education.

For 2021, now awaiting budget appropriations are the road opening of Phase 2 of Canyupay-Hebacong-Benowang-Baras-Pinanag-an; Surok-San Mateo Road (Phase2); Road Construction/Concreting of Cabalagnan-Canyupay (Phase 2); Road Opening/Concreting at Surok-San Mateo (Phase 4); Road Opening/Widening of Amantacop road; Road Opening at Sta. Fe; Road Opening of Balacdas-San Pablo; Road Opening at Sabang South-Sitio Lipgutan, and Road Opening at San Gabriel to Kaputian Falls, a Tourist Area. (nbq/SDC/PIA-E. Samar)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1067611