The fight against illegal drugs and terrorism gained a stronger ground in Nueva Ecija as provincial, village, and youth officials joined hands behind the Duterte administration’s drive for peace and order.
During a summit at the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office (NEPPO) compound recently, Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco urged stakeholders, particularly leaders of Sangguniang Kabataan and Kabataan Kontra Droga At Terorismo (KKDAT), to shield Filipino families from the twin menace.
“Ang iligal na droga at terorismo ay pareho, unang winawasak ang pamilya (Illegal drugs and terrorism are similar, both destroy the family first),” Sy Egco said.
The executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) was guest speaker at the KKDAT provincial summit themed, “Kabataan Tayo Mismo…Kontra Droga at Terorismo.”
Also gracing the event were Nueva Ecija Police Director, Col. Marvin Joe Saro, Vice Governor Anthony Umali, Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and Board Member Ariel Matias, SK Nueva Ecija Federation president and board member Sweet Cruz, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Nueva Ecija Investigation Agent III Jenlyn Abejuela.
“I thought they were pro-democracy, but what they wanted was dictatorship of the proletariat.”
“Akala ko nga makabayan sila. Akala ko nga sila’y maka-demokrasya, yun pala ang gusto nila ay dictatorship of the proletariat (I thought they were patriotic. I thought they were pro-democracy, but what they wanted was dictatorship of the proletariat),” he said of the communist-led New People’s Army (NPA).
Sy Egco also said President Rodrigo Duterte’s remark “If you destroy the children’s future, I will kill you” was a mere expression of the Chief Executive’s “profound love” for the country’s youth.
“He is a father who profoundly loves you.”
“Isa siyang tatay (He is a father) who profoundly loves you,” he stressed.
Matias noted the NPA’s “deceptive” way of recruiting the youth, mostly students, and getting the support of village officials in the countryside.
“Kunwari makikikape lang, pero yun na ang simula (They pretended to be just having coffee, but that was the beginning),” he said, narrating how the rebels visited villagers at nighttime during the tour of duty of now retired Gen. Jovito Palparan.
Umali, on the other hand, called for the youth’s pro-active participation in the government.
“Kung meron kayong hindi nagugustuhan sa pamahalaan, napakadali lang po. Bakit hindi natin i-mensahe dahil nasa demokrasyang bansa tayo (If there is something that you do not like with the government, it is very easy. Why don’t we send a message because we are in a democratic country),” the vice governor said.