FIGHTING NPA. A team of policemen for deployment in remote communities in Eastern Samar during a send-off ceremony on Oct. 19, 2020 in Borongan City. The Philippine National Police is moving its anti-insurgency program to remote villages in Eastern Samar following the successful conduct of this initiative in upland communities in Samar province. (Photo courtesy of PNP)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) is moving its anti-insurgency program to remote villages in Eastern Samar following the successful conduct of this initiative in upland communities in Samar province.
PNP Eastern Visayas Regional Director Brig. Gen. Ronaldo De Jesus on Thursday said the police-led retooled community support program (RCSP) is now expanding in the bid to shield poor and far-flung communities from the influence of the New People’s Army (NPA).
In October, the PNP started the conduct of RCSP in seven villages of Llorente town and three in Maydolong town, both in Eastern Samar province.
The Philippine Army takes charge of RCSP in 20 other villages in Borongan City, Llorente, and Balangkayan towns.
“The Army has been conducting the CSP and just this year, the PNP leads the undertaking and renamed it into retooled CSP. We want to make people feel the presence of government especially in remote areas of Samar Island,” De Jesus told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
From March to October 2020, the PNP-led activity has reached out to nine villages in Basey, five in Sta. Rita, and two in Marabut town.
The mission of RCSP team is to identify issues and concerns in remote communities threatened by the communist terrorist group NPA.
These issues will be raised to the concerned government agencies and local government units for them to address it accordingly.
The task of the teams, according to De Jesus, is to facilitate solutions for those identified problems through the convergence of efforts of different government agencies supervised by the local task force on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC).
“This is a tool to attain the whole of government approach in partnership with national government agencies and local government units. Despite calamities in many areas in the country, our government is still here in Samar helping the poor,” De Jesus added.
The official said the RCSP will strongly help to completely wipe out the NPA before the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in mid-2022.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
