In observance of the Holy Week, the Philippine News Agency’s online news service will be off on March 29, Good Friday, and March 30, Black Saturday. Normal operations will resume on March 31, Easter Sunday.

— The Editors

R-6 champions ‘Akap-Kapatid’ for CTG supporters, surrenderers

By Perla Lena

February 24, 2021, 6:36 pm

<p><strong>AKAP-KAPATID</strong>. Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Visayas Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales (center) receives judicial affidavits of the participants of the Akap-Kapatid program during its culmination program in Oton, Iloilo on Feb. 21, 2021. Associate Provincial Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales (right) said Akap-Kapatid is sort of a psycho-social intervention program championed by the Western Visayas Regional Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict. <em>(PNA photo by PGLena)</em></p>

AKAP-KAPATID. Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Visayas Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales (center) receives judicial affidavits of the participants of the Akap-Kapatid program during its culmination program in Oton, Iloilo on Feb. 21, 2021. Associate Provincial Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales (right) said Akap-Kapatid is sort of a psycho-social intervention program championed by the Western Visayas Regional Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict. (PNA photo by PGLena)

ILOILO CITY – The Western Visayas Regional Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) has championed the Akap-Kapatid program to help former members of communist terrorist groups (CTGs) to lead a new life.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Associate Provincial Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales said “Akap-Kapatid is sort of a psycho-social intervention program” by the task force with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as among the primary agencies on board.

It is being considered by the national task force to be replicated in other areas in the country.

The primary creator of the program is the Civil Military Operations (CMO) of the 301st Brigade, adopted by the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and later by other clusters of the task force, Gonzales said.

“It has concretized the integration of the mass-based supporters of NPA (New People’s Army) and we have shown that the government looks after their welfare. The most important is that they will be radicalized, the way they view the government will change,” said Gonzales, who sits as chair of the Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC) of the task force.

The pilot was held last week in Oton, Iloilo with 82 participants: 64 from Tapaz, Capiz and 18 from Calinog, Iloilo. Two more batches will be asked to attend the program in March.

“Our focus is the active members of the Milisyang Bayan and NPA red fighters who surrendered, the radicalized segment of the CTGs who return to the fold of the law,” Gonzales said.

The first batch, he added, are from Calinog and Tapaz but in the succeeding batches, it will be opened to other areas like surrenderers from Antique, and other parts of Iloilo and Capiz.

Meanwhile, during the culmination activity that was held on Feb. 21, participants expressed contentment and gratefulness because for the first time they experienced being recipients of the convergence of government services and from the private sector.

In her message, Nineta Caballero who spoke on behalf of participants from Calinog said they could not describe their happiness.

She added that they will bring the feeling back to their barangays coupled with a hope that their community can stand up.

Jobelyn Giganto from Barangay Lahug, Tapaz, Capiz shared the sentiment of Caballero.

She said that as a barangay official she will bring the message to her constituents that the government is not remiss in helping them, especially for those living in upland areas.

Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana, spokesperson and chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office (PIO), who attended the culmination of the event, said through the Akap-Kapatid, they are embracing Filipinos who were once left behind by providing services not only from the PNP and the Philippine Army (PA).

“We believe that the military solution is not the solution to addressing the problem on insurgency. Good enough that this convergence of services of government agencies under the auspices of the National Task Force ELCAC is being done,” he said in an interview.

The program in Western Visayas is a uniquely designed intervention program that employs collaborative response among the members of the RTF-ELCAC.

It has two phases: the short term that will focus on the self-assessment, psychosocial program and confidence building of participants; and long term which will focus on the general welfare of the “balik-loob” on how they can return to the community and live peacefully and sustainably.

Usana said they hoped that the program would “pave the way for opening the gates of all other areas, communities that possibly can avail of services coming from the government”.

During the ceremony, each of the participants received bicycles from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) that they can use for transportation since they live in mountainous areas, PHP5,000 cash assistance from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Visayas (OPAV), seedlings from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and food packs from the DSWD.

They also received various vitamins and supplements during the Feb. 20 medical and dental mission.

They also availed of community tax certificates, free eyeglasses, tooth extractions, dentures, prosthodontics, checkup, haircuts, manicures, and pedicures.

OPAV Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales, in his message, urged participants not to think that they are not being taken care of.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte, in signing Executive Order 70 or the Whole-of Nation Approach, has in his mind to serve them.

He urged them to encourage those who are trying to discredit the government to return to the fold of the government.

“I hope that this exercise will really bring peace in your places so that like Bohol, there will be tourism, more business so there will be jobs for all of us,” he said.

He said Bohol has a thriving tourism industry because there no more insurgents in the province.

During the program, the associate provincial prosecutor turned over to the OPAV official 80 judicial affidavits executed by the participants. The rest of the participants have executed judicial affidavits during an event that was held in Calinog, Iloilo.

The affidavits manifested their support to the government, renunciation of their support to the CPP-NPA, and information relevant to the campaign against insurgency, the associate provincial prosecutor said.

The participants also signed on the wall of commitment to express their support to the government.

Prosecutor Gonzales believed that the program, which was made as a pilot program of PNP chief Debold Sinas, will be sustained.

“It is right to say that Akap-Kapatid, as a best practice was born in Western Visayas,” he said. (PNA)


Comments