President Duterte will lead the claim of victory in areas that were freed from the clutches of the communist rebels in Eastern Visayas during his visit on Thursday, March 18, amid the apparent shift of the national government's focus from drug war to the war against communist rebels.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the visit includes a dialogue with the beneficiaries of the Barangay Development Program (BDP), one of the pet projects of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Based on this project, barangay officials would receive a multi-million development package once their communities are cleared from the influence and control of the communist rebels. The parameters in determining the clearance from NPA is based on the assessment of security officials.
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"Taking into consideration the deplorable poverty rate of Region 8, it is ideally suited to be a recipient of the NTF-ELCAC's development programs through the DBP and other development programs," Esperon, who is also the vice chairperson of NTF-ELCAC, said in a statement Wednesday.

According to Esperon, Region 8, or Eastern Visayas, has been one of the poorest regions in the country and one of the major contributing factors is the presence of the NPA rebels in the community.

He cited data from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) which showed that Region 8 had a poverty rate of 24.8 percent in 2020. It sustained a double-digit poverty rate in 2019 (26.18 percent); 2015 (38.7 percent); and 2009 (42.6 percent).

"This alarming double-digit poverty incidence is indicative of the dire economic situation experienced in Region 8, especially in Samar," Esperon said.

Under the initial rollout of the BDP, a total of 822 barangays were programmed to receive P20 million each for the construction of social development programs under the BDP.

These barangays were cleared of NPAs from 2016 to 2019 and will receive funding to address issues such as poverty, isolation, disease, hunger, and lack of educational and livelihood opportunities -- things that Esperon said are allegedly being used by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to trick poor people in the communities to join NPA.

Meanwhile, an additional 1,376 barangays that were cleared of communist insurgency in Mindanao and Visayas from 2019 to 2020 will also be beneficiaries of the BDP for 2022. Of these, 200 barangays are located in Region 8.

"With the President personally witnessing the implementation of the BDP and other socio-economic activities, he is ensuring that the improvement of the human conditions in Region 8 will be delivered with all possible haste," Esperon said.

Last March 5, Duterte personally witnessed the launching of BDP in Cagayan de Oro City where he held dialogues with and heard the lamentations of local chief executives of communities that were freed from the NPA's influence.