P1 B earmarked for dev't of villages cleared of communist insurgency
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – More than P1 billion have been allocated for the development of barangays in Western Visayas cleared of the influence of communist insurgency.
“These are formerly communist affected areas that have been cleared,” said Juan Jovian Ingeniero, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-6.

REGIONAL Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero (third from left) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Western Visayas speaks during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
Ingeniero said the funding came from the 2022-202 Local Government Support Fund-Support to the Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP) under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“The projects focused on alleviating poverty and development in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas or GIDAs,” said Ingeniero at the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-6 on Tuesday, July 30.
These projects are farm-to-market roads, health stations, school facilities, water systems, and rural electrification in selected areas in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces.
Ingeniero said that beneficiary barangays are decreasing as the number of communist insurgency affected areas in the region are declining.
He said that they are closely coordinating with the 3rd Infantry Division (ID) of the Philippine Army and the Police Regional Office-6 of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to convince communist rebels in remaining areas in Western Visayas to surrender.