GUEST COLUMNIST
By Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr
The Marcos Jr. administration is implementing a comprehensive approach to address the decades-long communist insurgency in the Philippines. It is focused not only on decisively ending the rebellion but also in “transforming” the communist group and its members.
To realize this goal, the government is carrying out its Localized Peace Engagement (LPE) initiative that has demonstrated its effectiveness in dealing with former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
Local peace engagement
The LPE Framework has two major tracks: Track 1, which includes community consultation and problem-solving sessions where all the root causes of insurgency are surfaced in a safe, open space.
Track 2, on the other hand, involves local peace dialogues with active members of CPP-NPA-NDF for them to go back to the folds of the law and join the mainstream of society to have a better life.
These tracks aim to achieve the primary goal of LPE, which is the normalization of former CPP-NPA-NDF members, their families, and communities through the Transformation Program (TP). The TP has four components: security, confidence-building, healing and reconciliation, and socio-economic.
The transformation aspect of the government’s LPE initiative will enable these former cadres to make the transition as peaceful and productive citizens, and at the same time, allow the government to provide them with livelihood support to ensure their sustained psychological and social rehabilitation.
In line with this LPE Framework, provincial local government units (PLGUs), with the assistance of OPAPRU, are crafting their respective TP implementation plans. To date, 37 out of 51 target PLGUs have been engaged in this initiative.
It is remarkable to witness firsthand what happens during these TP planning workshops. Former adversaries on the battlefield – government forces and former members of the communist group – sit shoulder to shoulder, as they spiritedly exchange ideas and craft proposals on how to uplift the well-being of the former rebels.
What was unimaginable years ago is now finally becoming a reality — the transformation of these former rebels into agents of peace and development.
Holistic transformation
Through the national government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP), coupled with our local peace engagement efforts, 44,000 individuals have returned to the folds of the law, with 19,000 of them being former combatants.
A significant number of front organizations have also withdrawn their support from the communist group as of May 2024. All of these achievements are a result of the close collaboration among the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the local government units, and national agencies in addressing head-on the root causes of conflict and propelling the key drivers for development.
It is also worth noting that eight PLGUs across the country have initiated the establishment of Peace and Development Centers. These centers will take the lead in the implementation of peacebuilding interventions, including PAMANA projects, and help the former rebels in their transformation.
As we build on this momentum, it is our hope that the 51 provinces that will develop their TP implementation plans this year will likewise be able to set up their respective Peace Centers in the near future. The TPs for the remaining 30 provinces are programmed to be operationalized in 2025.
Amnesty
And with the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Proclamation No. 404, s. 2023, which shall grant amnesty to former members of the CPP-NPA-NDF, we expect more of them to return to the folds of the law, rebuild their lives, and walk the path of peace.
Providing amnesty to former CPP-NPA-NDF members is a win-win approach, as it will return to these former rebels' legal rights and provide them access to much-needed socio-economic services while enabling the national government to push forward and build on the gains of peace.
These lines of effort are holistic interventions to ensure the complete transformation of the former rebels into peaceful and productive individuals.
Collective effort
For Marcos Jr.’s peace strategy to succeed, it requires the unwavering support of all sectors of Philippine society. The President’s clarion call best summarizes his vision of peace: “I call upon the wholehearted support of all Filipinos as your government extends, in good faith, our nation’s goodwill to those ready to welcome and embrace our collective vision of peace, national reconciliation, and unity.”
Ending armed conflict is not just the responsibility of the national government. It is a whole-of-nation, whole-of-society approach that emphasizes the importance of inclusion, synergy, and collaboration.
As the President has underscored time and again, each and every Filipino must be part of the peacebuilding and development process. No one must be left behind. Everyone has a key role to play.
At this stage in the implementation of the comprehensive Philippine peace process, there is no longer a need for armed struggle. Rebellion and violence no longer have a place in a peaceful, just, and democratic society. The dividends of peace are now upon us.
(Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., is the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. He advises the President on the implementation of the Philippine Comprehensive Peace Process.)