IN YET ANOTHER attempt to stop the insurgency problem that persisted in the country for more than 50 years now, the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte has started its information and service caravan to the Ata-Manobo tribal communities that authorities see as continuously being under the influence of the communist’s New People’s Army (NPA).
The province’s “Adlaw sa Kalinaw: Information and Service Caravan was held recently at Sitio Bato, Barangay Palma Gil of Talaingod town considered the “backyard” of the impoverished members of the Ata-Manobo tribe.
Provincial Administrator Jose Jean Rabanoz said that the main thrust of the caravan was to stop the armed insurgency in which, he added, some Ata-Manobo were still involved.
He added that the caravan has extended different services and help to the tribe in accordance with their primary needs.
Meanwhile, a former rebel now a teacher at Salungpungan School in Talaingod, recalled how they were “deceived by the NPA for them to go against the government”. Now, he is urging his former comrades to surrender to the government.
According to Oliver Binancilan, Davao Region Area of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the national government has projects like housing and road construction intended for indigenous people communities in Davao Norte.
The caravan was spearheaded by Davao del Norte Provincial government and joined in by the Municipal Government of Talaingod, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, 1003rd Infantry Battalion, 56th Infantry Battalion, Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Environment and National Resources.
