DAVAO CITY — The Province of Davao Oriental is now insurgency-free, this was the unanimous declaration of the members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) during the September 19, meeting held in a local hotel in Maty City.
The provincial government has instituted several programs and measures to win the hearts of the people who previously supported the communist movement while the military took care in clearing the ground by providing information and education campaign to awaken the people about the ails of joining the terrorist movement.
During the PPOC, the council members unanimously approved a resolution declaring the province of Davao Oriental as insurgency-free and development-ready
Brigadier General Oliver Maquiling, the Commander of the 701st Kagitingan Brigade, reported that the Weakened Guerrilla Front 18 is now dismantled and totally dysfunctional, with only two remaining insurgents left, which he says is now insignificant.
Maguiling elaborated “They can no longer implement the basic function of the front because they have no political and military structures to carry out their purposes of its creation,.”
Being insurgency-cleared, Maguiling emphasized “All areas of the province are now cleared and no more influenced area left.”
He added that aside from the focused military operations, they also attributed their success to the convergence of government agencies in implementing various peace and development programs. The downpour of development projects under the Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) which provided high-impact projects such as roads, water systems, schools, and livelihood projects, among others in communities, is another significant factor.
The military was not focused on combat operations but they also initiated programs such as the Retooled Community Support Program, the deployment of Battalion Sustainment Teams, and the police-initiated program Revitalized Pulis sa Barangay played a crucial role in gaining the people’s trust and support, especially those in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA’s).
Since 2016, 335 former rebels have already been enrolled under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and processed at the Happy Home, a halfway house and transition home for rebel returnees.
Davao Oriental Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon lauded the efforts of the security sector and all peace stakeholders.
Wayback 2013, when Malanyaon served as Governor in 2013, the province was declared insurgency-free by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
It was then that Governor established a shelter for the former rebels called “Happy Home”.
Peace and order concerns are among the challenges of every local government units in their tourism campaign.
But Malanyaon said, with the recent declaration “We have what it takes to be a premier tourist destination and Davao Oriental is worth visiting. But we also have to consider that the tourism industry is too sensitive to peace and order,.”
The insurgency-free declaration was based on the result of the evaluation and validation made by the AFP-PNP Joint Area Clearing Evaluation Board (ACEB) and the AFP-PNP Joint Area Clearing Validation Committee (ACVC) and is set to be elevated to the national level for confirmation and final approval.-With report from PIO-DavOR
