SUPPORT TO EO 70. Surigao del Sur Governor Alexander Pimentel speaks during a community dialogue in Diatagon, Lianga town on Monday (Oct. 21, 2019). The mayor reiterated the provincial government's support to the aspirations of the Duterte administration to end local communist insurgency and realize genuine peace and development in the area. (Photo courtesy of CMO, 3SFBn)
BUTUAN CITY – The Philippine Army in Surigao del Sur has lauded local leaders for their continued support to Executive Order No. 70, which institutionalizes the "whole-of-nation approach" in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace to end the local communist armed conflict in the province.
In particular, the Army's 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3SFBn) expressed gratitude to the provincial government following the dialogue held in Sitio Simuwao (Kilometer 9), Diatagon, Lianga town on Monday.
The dialogue was attended by residents, local and provincial officials, and officers of the party-list Bayan Muna together with its local affiliate, the militant Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (MAPASU) on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday (October 22), the civil-military operations office of 3SFBn noted that Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Eufemia Campos Cullamat and Carlos Isagani Zarate, along with MAPASU leaders, tried but failed to convince Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel to pull-out its Community Support Teams (CSTs) in the area and in neighboring villages.
Monday's peace dialogue, 3SFBn said, aims to promote "reconciliation, convergence, sustainable peace and synergy through exploratory and consultative discussions" with the community, government agencies including Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other sectors.
“MAPASU and Bayan Muna insisted on their demand to pull-out the Community Support Teams and discrediting the government’s whole-of-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict, citing that it is not the right formula to end the conflict in the community,” said 1st Lt. Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan, 3SFBn CMO officer.
Punsalan said Pimentel turned down the request outright.
The 3SFBn statement quoted the governor as saying: “With all due respect, I must tell you frankly, only President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, can order the Army personnel to move anytime and anywhere when needed. They have a mission to fulfill in line with the whole-of-nation approach to end the local communist armed conflict that is very crucial to our national security.”
The governor added that the presence of the military was not the issue, as he encouraged the residents present during the dialogue to "move forward and focus on more relevant issues" in their communities, particularly on education, health, and economy.
“Let the military do their mandate and sworn duty to serve and protect the Filipino people from the Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs),” he added.
During the dialogue, Punsalan emphasized that the military only acted as an observer and did not issue any statement.
Punsalan said that as the Bayan Muna and MAPASU officers strongly opposed the government's peace and development initiatives under EO 70, "they also cited rehashed, false and malicious accusations against the military."
Mining, education
Punsalan said other issues raised by the militant groups, such as mining, education, economy and on the presence of the military that led to the alleged decrease in farm production of local farmers, were disputed by the leaders of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the area, particularly the IP Council of Lianga.
The council, he said, is the legitimate IP political structure that exists in IP communities in the area.
The IP Council reported the increased farm production in the area due to the rehabilitated farm-to-market road through the joint initiatives of the local government, the 3SFBn, the Army's 544th Engineering Brigade, and the provincial government.
Punsalan said the tribal leaders also disagreed on the issue of mining raised by the militant groups, asserting that the tribe has the right for self-determination and can prohibit or allow any group from operating inside their ancestral domain.
He said the tribal leaders also explained that contrary to the claims of leftist groups, the government has not deprived the IPs of education, as it has been encouraging the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV) and the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) to comply with the requirements from the Department of Education to be able to operate legally.
However, the tribal leaders noted that the schools and the MAPASU group have continued to comply with the DepED requirements.
A week before the dialogue, the IP Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Lianga town, Hawudon Jumar Bucales, had asked Bayan Muna and MAPASU to make the dialogue more reflective "to the sincere aspiration" of the IPs to end the local communist armed conflict in the area. (PNA)
