DILG to empower 822 remote barangays to fight insurgency
Published Mar 2, 2020 12:00 am
By Chito Chavez
As part of the thrust of the Duterte administration, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Monday its next target is to bring enhanced government services and projects to 822 remote barangays in the country in 2020 as part of the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP).
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Photo from Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN)
The move is in line with the Duterte administration’s bid to ensure that government services reach remote communities in the hinterlands and islands.
The RCSP is a priority program of the DILG and other government agencies which aims to address identified issues of the community by closing the governance and development gaps through the provision of needed government interventions to promote sustained peace.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that “the communist terrorists utilize alleged government neglect to hoodwink unsuspecting farmers and indigenous peoples to join their lost cause. Bringing government services closer to the communities is a massive step to counter further communist recruitments in these remote barangays.”
"Mahalaga na maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan, maging sa mga pinakamalayong dako ng bansa, na handa silang suportahan at tulungan ng pamahalaan (It is important that the people are provided with ample public services even in the country’s most remote areas that shows the government’s willingness to provide support and assistance to them),’’ Año said.
With these 822 barangays, Año has underscored the government's resolve to end local armed conflicts.
According to Año, Regions 11, 13 and 10 have the most number of communities that will benefit from the priority implementation of the RCSP with 213, 178, 118 barangays, respectively.
Meanwhile, Region 6 has 74 target barangays; Region 12 with 62; 45 from Region 5; Region 9 with 32; CALABARZON with 31; Region 2 with 28; MIMAROPA with 24; and 10, six and one for CAR, and Regions 8 and 3, respectively.
He added that the 822 barangays will cover a total of 206 cities and municipalities.
"We really targeted barangays that are the farthest and susceptible to communist recruitment. We will empower these communities so that they may not be easily swayed by the empty promises of the communist-terrorists," he explained.
Empowering the Communities
Año said that the DILG is aiming to develop the citizens of the barangays to organize themselves towards their own development by bringing to the communities interventions that will uplift their current condition.
He noted that capacitating urban communities for peace and development will be implemented in 42 cities and one municipality through enhancing local government unit (LGU) social protection mechanism, increased citizen participation in governance.
The DILG chief stressed that the establishment of local-based cooperatives will also be encouraged in these LGUs by jumpstarting the assistance to LGUs in partnership with other national government agencies and stakeholders, he says.
He emphasized that technical assistance in project preparation and implementation will also be accorded to 206 cities and municipalities covered by RCSP for 2020.
The said technical assistance will be beneficial in the roll-out of the barangay development package provision of the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist and Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) under the Payapa at Maunlad na Pamayanan Program.
"These programs aim to empower the beneficiaries,’’ he said.
The DILG reported that 204 municipalities and cities will also receive technical assistance in preparation for the 643 PAMANA projects to commence in 2020 in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process, while 206 cities and municipalities are targeted to participate in the Citizen Satisfaction Index System to gather feedback on LGU service delivery.
"We are going all out for the empowerment of barangays and their protection against terrorists. In fact 2,739 threatened barangays are prioritized for strengthening of barangay-based institutions," the DILG chief explained.
“Innovating existing policies on the coverage and scope of Conditional Matching Grant for Provinces, Assistance to Municipalities, and Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat are also slated in 2021 onwards to accommodate more beneficiaries in the communities,’’ he ended.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Photo from Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN)
The move is in line with the Duterte administration’s bid to ensure that government services reach remote communities in the hinterlands and islands.
The RCSP is a priority program of the DILG and other government agencies which aims to address identified issues of the community by closing the governance and development gaps through the provision of needed government interventions to promote sustained peace.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that “the communist terrorists utilize alleged government neglect to hoodwink unsuspecting farmers and indigenous peoples to join their lost cause. Bringing government services closer to the communities is a massive step to counter further communist recruitments in these remote barangays.”
"Mahalaga na maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan, maging sa mga pinakamalayong dako ng bansa, na handa silang suportahan at tulungan ng pamahalaan (It is important that the people are provided with ample public services even in the country’s most remote areas that shows the government’s willingness to provide support and assistance to them),’’ Año said.
With these 822 barangays, Año has underscored the government's resolve to end local armed conflicts.
According to Año, Regions 11, 13 and 10 have the most number of communities that will benefit from the priority implementation of the RCSP with 213, 178, 118 barangays, respectively.
Meanwhile, Region 6 has 74 target barangays; Region 12 with 62; 45 from Region 5; Region 9 with 32; CALABARZON with 31; Region 2 with 28; MIMAROPA with 24; and 10, six and one for CAR, and Regions 8 and 3, respectively.
He added that the 822 barangays will cover a total of 206 cities and municipalities.
"We really targeted barangays that are the farthest and susceptible to communist recruitment. We will empower these communities so that they may not be easily swayed by the empty promises of the communist-terrorists," he explained.
Empowering the Communities
Año said that the DILG is aiming to develop the citizens of the barangays to organize themselves towards their own development by bringing to the communities interventions that will uplift their current condition.
He noted that capacitating urban communities for peace and development will be implemented in 42 cities and one municipality through enhancing local government unit (LGU) social protection mechanism, increased citizen participation in governance.
The DILG chief stressed that the establishment of local-based cooperatives will also be encouraged in these LGUs by jumpstarting the assistance to LGUs in partnership with other national government agencies and stakeholders, he says.
He emphasized that technical assistance in project preparation and implementation will also be accorded to 206 cities and municipalities covered by RCSP for 2020.
The said technical assistance will be beneficial in the roll-out of the barangay development package provision of the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist and Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) under the Payapa at Maunlad na Pamayanan Program.
"These programs aim to empower the beneficiaries,’’ he said.
The DILG reported that 204 municipalities and cities will also receive technical assistance in preparation for the 643 PAMANA projects to commence in 2020 in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process, while 206 cities and municipalities are targeted to participate in the Citizen Satisfaction Index System to gather feedback on LGU service delivery.
"We are going all out for the empowerment of barangays and their protection against terrorists. In fact 2,739 threatened barangays are prioritized for strengthening of barangay-based institutions," the DILG chief explained.
“Innovating existing policies on the coverage and scope of Conditional Matching Grant for Provinces, Assistance to Municipalities, and Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat are also slated in 2021 onwards to accommodate more beneficiaries in the communities,’’ he ended.