INSURGENCY-FREE VOW. Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, the designated Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) in Central Visayas, confides with Maj. Gen. Dinoh Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry (Spearhed) Division, during the Regional Convergence Workshop on the National Plan to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, at the Oakridge Pavillion on Thursday (July 18, 2019). Dino vowed to have an insurgency-free Central Visayas by 2021. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra)
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The designated Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) in Central Visayas on Thursday vowed to make Region 7 “insurgency free” by 2021.
Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte in May to act as his alter ego for the region’s development and security under the CORDS system, said that by having an insurgency-free region, “we will experience sustainable peace and development.”
Dino, who also heads the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), said such commitment will succeed through the “combined efforts” of all stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
“I am happy that we are all gathered here today, determined not only to neutralize the communist terrorist groups, but also to secure peace that is sustainable paving the way for national growth and development to the satisfaction of our citizenry,” Dino said in his message during the Regional Convergence Workshop on the National Plan to End Local Communist Armed Conflict held at the Oakride Pavillion, in this industrial city.
Dino said that sustainable peace cannot be achieved by only dealing with the terrorist groups with force and cutting off whatever support on weapons and external sources of funding they are receiving.
“We should also address their needs through providing them with accessible and reliable basic services,” he said, stressing that these responsibilities need a “whole of nation” approach.
Dino said that the President signed Executive Order No. 70 that seeks to institutionalize the whole of nation approach in ending local communist armed conflict. The EO also provides the implementation of the national plan in ending insurgency through the 12 Clusters working through the National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
The President also designated his Cabinet secretaries as CORDS in order to operationalize the national plan that seeks to end local communist armed conflict.
Since the start of the Duterte administration, Dino said his office has rolled out a Gobyerno Serbisyo caravan now called “Serbisyong Malasakit,” which aims to bring government frontline services closest to the people, especially the poorest of the poor.
“It (Serbisyong Malasakit) played a vital role in creating a close partnership between OPAV and other national government agencies and LGUs streamlining the delivery of basic services through a one-stop shop,” he said. These services of different agencies include medical, dental, licensing, postal ID issuance, job hiring, among others.
In a press briefing after the workshop’s opening program, Dino said a multi-agency group will focus on solving insurgency problem in 15 barangays in the region.
Maj. Gen. Dinoh Dolina, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division based in Jamindan, Capiz, identified these 15 villages in seven towns in Negros Oriental.
“After receiving our mandate under EO No. 70 and a memorandum order for us to reinforce the forces in Negros, both the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) responded accordingly,” said Dolina, whose area of responsibility covers Cebu, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
National Intelligence Coordination Agency (NICA-7) Regional Director Augustus Marquez said the 15 focus villages has around 50,000 residents. (PNA)
