PEACE EFFORTS. Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy Gonzaga highlights the gains of being an insurgency-free province during the opening of the Bulawan Festival in Nabunturan town on Monday (March 6, 2023). The governor thanked the police and military forces for making the province safe and free from the presence of communist rebels. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)
NABUNTURAN, Davao de Oro – Governor Dorothy Gonzaga highlighted the positive gains of being an insurgency-free province during the opening of the Bulawan Festival here Monday.
Gonzaga underscored the importance of the declaration of the province, as well as the entire Davao Region, as free from the active presence of communist rebels, in attaining peace and promoting development, especially in the far-flung areas.
“We thank the police and military forces for making Davao de Oro safe and free from the presence of the rebel group. We commit to providing you with our all-out support or whatever ways we can help you in return,’ the governor said.
Davao de Oro was declared insurgency-free in June last year.
Four months later, the Davao Region was also declared insurgency-free following the peace and order initiatives that dismantled the remnants of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the area.
In a separate interview, Col. Felix Ronnie Babac, the newly-installed commander of the Army's 1001st Infantry Brigade, said that sustaining the peace in the province has been very challenging.
“There’s a saying that it is more difficult to sustain peace than fight a war. We have to ensure that they should always have the basic services given by the government for them so as not to be deceived by the NPA anymore,” Babac said.
As part of the Bulawan Festival, the provincial government is also set to bring the “Serbisyo Caravan” to the geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) that were once havens of the NPA rebels. (PNA)
