ILOILO City – Western Visayans must continue supporting the government’s anti-insurgency campaign, said Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, spokesperson of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in Region 6.
The RTF-ELCAC conducted Provincial Leveling Sessions participated in by the provincial, municipal and barangay task forces of ELCAC from the provinces of Antique and Capiz, and Aklan and Guimaras, on May 10 and May 11, respectively.
“The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) can never defeat government forces,” said Gonzales.
For decades, the communist terrorist group (CTG) capitalized on the problem of poverty and lack of basic services, according to Gonzales, and for this the government came out with Executive Order (EO) 70 or the whole-of-nation approach to counter the insurgency.
Under EO 70, conflict-stricken barangays are given priority by the government.
The Barangay Development Program aims to bring the government to the grassroots level; it brings much needed basic services to far-flung barangays.
Gonzales also highlighted the vital role of local government unit in ending the communist insurgency by denying the CTG’s mass bases and instead encouraging rebels to surrender and providing for their reintegration.
“Ipaabot ang mensahe sang gobyerno sa mga CPP-NPA nga magbalik na sila sa sabak sang gobyerno,” he said.
Gonzales, who also chairs the Western Visayas RTF-ELCAC’s Legal Cooperation Cluster, urged barangay, city, municipal and provincial task forces to protect their people, to include the Indigenous Peoples and the youth, against the deceptive recruitment and exploitation of the CTGs.
“Declare the CPP-NPA as ‘persona non grata’ and withdraw support from them. Support the Barangay Development Plan. Strengthen the family and improve local government presence and basic services,” he urged.
Gonzales also reminded the local government officials to bring the government to the barangays, focusing on the poorest of the poor.
He said “bring the government projects and basic social services to the communities that have been neglected for so long.”
He added that the efficient delivery of basic services will end the communist insurgency and will render the propaganda of the CPP-NPA Terrorist irrelevant and immaterial. (PIA-6/PN)
