The military is shifting its focus on community-based peace-building programs to sustain its gains against armed rebels and maintain the insurgency-free status of Davao City and its neighboring regions.
Davao City marks the first year since the complete surrender of the leadership of the Sub-Regional Committee Five of the New People’s Army (NPA-SRC5) to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the 1003rd Infantry Brigade, which has jurisdiction over the territories of Davao City and most of Davao del Norte.
The leadership of NPA-SRC5 surrendered to authorities on January 13 last year. Davao City was declared insurgency-free shortly after on March 25, followed by Davao del Norte on June 22, 2022.
1003rd Infantry Brig. General Consolito Yecla, during the Madayaw Davao program aired over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Tuesday, said maintaining Davao City’s insurgency-free status is a lot more complicated than clearing the territories of armed rebels and will require extensive investment on peace-building initiatives.
“Ang nakahanay na mga programa nating magkasunod ay ‘yong pag-sustain ng isang insurgency-free area na kung saan ang ating mga efforts ay naka-focus sa mga peace-building activities (Our programs in the pipeline are those geared at sustaining an insurgency-free area where our efforts are focused on peace-building activities),” Yecla said.
The first of these activities is the re-integration of former rebels. Yecla said this has already been done for former rebels in Davao City with help from the local government.
“Na-accomplish natin ito di lang dahil sa (We accomplished this not just because of the) armed forces but also because of the help of the local government, lalo na ang Davao City. In fact, noong nag-surrender sila ng (when they surrendered last) January to Feburary, by March—during the declaration of Davao City as insurgency-free ang Davao City ay nagbigay ng suporta sa nag-surrender na NPA (the city government of Davao gave support to the NPA members who surrendered) in the amount of P2.5 million,” he said.
Assisting former rebels re-assimilate into society must extend until they are once again contributing to the community. Yecla said some surrenderees have actually started using the skills they learned in training provided by government.
Reconciliation programs for the families of slain rebels are also being carried out by the 1003rd Infantry. According to Yecla, families of slain rebels must be compensated for their loss to prevent them from being exploited by entities that want to fuel the cycle of violence.
Yecla said the City Social Welfare and Development Office and other programs of the city government such as the Peace 911 have been instrumental in carrying out reconciliation programs with families of slain rebels.
Yecla said development programs at the barangay level, especially in far-flung barangays lagging behind in terms of economic progress, are also critical in maintaining the peace, as well as educating the youth against recruitment tactics of insurgent forces.
He added that moving forward, the fight against armed struggle, instead of being fought in the battlefield, will instead take place in the classrooms and the communities. This is why the armed forces is currently aiming to reach school children in their culture of security campaign this year.
“Dinedevelop natin ang (We are developing the) culture of security ng mga youth para hindi sila maging subject to further exploitation. Para since natapos na natin ang insurgency ngayon, wala ng new generations of armed insurgents,” Yecla added.
The 1003rd Infantry is also strengthening cooperation and intelligence-sharing among territories within the region with the Integrated Territorial System, while building trust with Baganis in Indigenous communities to help them monitor peace situations in ancestral lands.
Yecla assured the public that although there are still many things left to do in order to maintain lasting peace in the region, the 1003rd Infantry Brigade is “very much focused” on attaining this goal to ensure the safety of all Dabawenyos. CIO
