CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The continuous military operations may have weakened the New People’s Army but ending the insurgency not just in Mindanao but also in the entire country will only be accomplished if the local government units will provide good governance.
PHILIPPINE National Police chief Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. (at rostrum) delivers his speech during the presentation of former rebels at the regional headquarters of the Police Regional Office-10 in Barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, on Saturday, July 8. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Philippine National Police chief Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said that insurgency would start to build up in areas where government services such as infrastructure are inadequate.
"When the road ends, the insurgency begins," said Acorda during a press conference when he visited the Police Regional Office (PRO)-10 (Northern Mindanao) in Cagayan de Oro on Saturday, July 8.
The PNP chief at the same time appealed to other government agencies to know the importance of helping one another.
The PRO-10 presented to Acorda the 43 former rebels under the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) who recently returned to the fold of the law. The former rebels were also given assistance during the event, apart from preparing their benefits under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
PERSONNEL of the Police Regional Office-10 hand over assistance during the presentation of former New People’s Army rebels at the regional headquarters of the Police Regional Office-10 in Barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City on Saturday, July 8. (Franck Dick Rosete)
The PRO-10 also presented a total of 16 firearms composed of one caliber .50 improvised sniper rifle, seven M16 rifles, three M14 rifles, three CZ rifles, and two caliber .45 pistols.
These firearms were from the Platoon IPAD, Sub-regional Committee 5, NCMRC. These firearms were recovered in Barangay Lapok, Talakag town, Bukidnon province through a joint police operation with the help of a former rebel on July 2.
During the start of the implementation of Executive Order No. 70, or the whole-of-nation approach program, in late 2018, Brig. Gen. Joel Paloma, assistant division chief of the Philippine Army 4th Infantry Division, said there were 13 NPA fronts in Northern Mindanao, and all of them have now vanished.
Meanwhile, in the Caraga region, which is also covered by the 4th ID, there are only three NPA fronts left, and all of them have already weakened. Paloma said the remaining fronts will vanish within this year.
"That’s how effective not the uniformed personnel but the local government structure is through EO 70, and the mechanism is the (NTF)-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict)," said Paloma, who also joined the event.
Police Lt. Gen. Filmore Escobal, commander of Area Police Command-Eastern Mindanao (APC-EM), said that good governance is the best way to end the insurgency.
PHILIPPINE National Police chief Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. (right) receives a plaque of appreciation from the Police Regional Office-10 after a press conference at the PRO-10 headquarters in Barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, on Saturday, July 8. (Franck Dick Rosete)
"In the first place, that’s why they were there because there’s no government. But if there's a government, there is no (insurgency)," said Escobal, who was also present in the press conference.
He said that the majority of the rebels had surrendered because they had lost the support of the people.
In connection with this, the APC-EM commander emphasized the importance of the Barangay Development Project (BDP), the hallmark program of NTF-ELCAC, with the aim of bringing development to former conflict-ridden communities through the implementation of various socio-economic development projects for barangay beneficiaries.
The Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Escobal said, are also part of the cluster under EO 70 that monitors and ensures that BDPs will be implemented.