Communications Secretary Martin Andanar (File photo)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Thursday commended the continued peace efforts undertaken in Region 10 following the proposed creation of an additional specialized task group to weaken the operations of communist terrorist groups in rural areas.
Andanar, who is the designated Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Northern Mindanao, presided the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Region 10 (RTF-ELCAC 10) meeting here.
“Though we are still responding to the challenges and threat of Covid-19, we remain grateful that we are all healthy and well. We are also thankful for the gift of technology as means to communicate with one another as we gather to discuss various updates on certain issues on ending local communist armed conflict,” Andanar said. “It is very insightful. We do believe that this proposal will be a great leap to solving our insurgency problem.”
The Special Task Group on Countering Communist Terrorist Group (CTG)’s Resource Generation aims to dismantle resurgence of armed conflict by quelling their extortion activities as well as the logistic support that the leftist group receive from various organizations.
“Much has to be done. What we need is our perseverance and relentless support to one another if we want to have a progressive and peaceful country. We owe it to our children and children's children. So I call on each one of us to play our part and perform our functions and mandates with an angle to achieve sustainable peace and inclusive and sustainable development, and more importantly, continue to monitor the implementation of ELCAC and CapDev programs,” he said.
In his report, 4th Infantry Division (4ID) commander, Maj. Gen. Andres Centino outlined the state of insurgency of the country with corresponding various military campaigns implemented over the years.
“The NPAs have reached its peak during the Aquino administration sometime in 1986 brought about by the release of top NPA leaders and various concessions given to the communist terrorists group, such as the passing of party list system and the succeeding negotiations between the GRP and the NDF,” he said, noting that incidence of insurgency has fluctuated since and have been plateaued in the last 10 years.
Despite the several military campaigns that were implemented, Centino said incidence of insurgency has never gone down to zero.
“It has plateaued at about 4,000 over the last 10 years. It goes to show that the military solution is not the answer to insurgency,” he added.
Centino bared that extortion and fund-generation schemes of the CTGs mainly caused the meager results to reduce the forces of the leftist group. He said that these should be addressed holistically by all sectors of society.
“We need to enjoin all sectors of society to participate in our aim to stop extortion,” he said.
The RTF-ELCAC also discussed updates on the policies implemented to address other social issues including poverty, insurgencies, and armed conflicts in the region.
“As shown in the program, today is very important to us since there are value agenda items that are critical in the continued implementation of the Executive No 70. And I am glad that with the effort of the RTF-ELCAC TWG, we have lined up agenda items with corresponding action areas,” Secretary Andanar said.
The RTF-ELCAC aims to sustain peace and order among the local communities while providing the basic and social services to the public, especially in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAS).
The meeting also included discussions on the following: terms of reference for the proposed line of effort/Special Task Group on Countering Communist Terrorist Group (CTG)’s Resource Generation; terms of reference on the Operationalization of the RTF-ELCAC Operations Center (OpCen) and Internal Security Operations (ISO) in Region 10; inclusion of the 402nd Infantry Brigade as member of the RTF-ELCAC 10; and Supplemental Guidelines on the Operationalization of the RTF Cluster’s Sub-Clusters and Cluster Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs). (PCOO PR)
