PEACE PROJECTS. Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu (in blue shirt) leads the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday (July 2, 2020) of three priority farm-to-market road projects of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Lakewood, town Zamboanga del Sur. The projects aim to spur economic development and put an end to the insurgency problem in the area. (Photo courtesy of the Army's 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)
ZAMBOANGA CITY--Local and military officials broke ground Thursday the three farm-to-market roads to spur economic development and put an end to the insurgency problem in Lakewood town, Zamboanga del Sur.
The projects consisted of the rehabilitation of 5.92-kilometer Poblacion-Baking-Dagum road; construction of 4.74-kilometer Dagum-Matalang road; and the construction of 4-kilometer Dagum-Tiwales road.
The farm-to-market-roads are priority projects of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), chaired by Gov. Victor Yu, in collaboration with the Lakewood Municipal TF-ELCAC chaired by Mayor Domingo Mirrar.
The project is implemented in partnership with the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion and the office of Zamboanga del Sur First District Rep. Divina Grace Yu.
“I have always said, we first build roads then everything else will follow,” Yu said during Thursday's groundbreaking, pointing out that road construction in the countryside has always been a tool for development and the eradication of insurgency.
“Having roads will also translate to the delivery of basic and government services to far-flung areas,” the governor added.
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, commander of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, described the projects as "roads that will lead to progress, roads that will deliver basic and government services to the people such as health, education, and job opportunities".
Mirrar, for his part, thanked the provincial government and the Army for helping in the realization of the three projects.
“This year 2020, 43 years after Lakewood was founded in 1977, is the first time our constituents in Barangay Dagum will be able to see four-wheeled vehicles,” he said.
“This means that the people (of Brgy Dagum) will now regularly see the transport of their harvest to the market, the entry of basic and government services, and hopefully, the end of insurgency,” Mirrar added.
The mayor said that for 43 years, four-wheeled vehicles cannot enter Barangay Dagum because of the unpaved roads, and became a haven of the communist terrorist New People’s Army (NPA) due to lack of access to basic government services.
Meanwhile, Col. Leonel Nicolas, commander of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade, lauded the efforts of the provincial and municipal task forces ELCAC and 53rd IB for putting into action their commitment to end the insurgency in Lakewood town.
“The good governance practiced by our local government will not only put insurgency into an end but will also sustain our future efforts of delivering services to the people,” Nicolas said.
Brig. Gen. Bagnus Gaerlan Jr., 1st Infantry Division assistant commander, hopes that the construction and rehabilitation of the three roads will encourage the NPAs to abandon the armed struggle and return to the folds of the law.
“The [NPAs] are also our brothers and sisters who were deceived with the wrong ideology,” Gaerlan said. (PNA)
