The Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) is implementing a P20-million road project in Dumingag town as part of its peace initiatives.
Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu, the PTF-ELCAC chairperson, said that the 3-kilometer road project is being implemented in the remote barangays (villages) of Dilud and Saad in the municipality of Dumingag.
Yu said the road project will connect the municipality of Dumingag to the towns of Katipunan, Osmeña, and parts of Zamboanga del Norte.
“The project will serve as a farm-to-market road to help farmers transport crops to market centers faster.”
Once completed, he said the project will also serve as a farm-to-market road to help farmers transport crops to market centers faster.
According to PTF-ELCAC, the barangays of Saad and Dilud used to serve as safe havens for the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels but have recently been declared as “cleared” following a series of peace engagements through the Army’s Community Support Program (CSP) and Retooled CSP (RCSP).
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, commander of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, underscored the importance of the road project for Barangay Saad residents in terms of basic services delivery.
“I know that many of the residents are victims of the wrong ideology and propaganda of the CPP-NPA,” Herrera said. “That is why your government officials, hand in hand with your soldiers, are earnestly doing our task to address this communist armed problem in accordance with the main priority of Executive Order 70 to end the communists and communism itself.”
EO 70, issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in late 2018, aims to institutionalize the “whole-of-nation” approach in addressing the communist insurgency in the countryside.
“Nowadays, it’s the right time for us to be one with the government. President Duterte launched this ELCAC project in order for us to invite our fellow Filipinos who are still suffering from the wrong ideology of the CPP-NPA-NDF, and help them surrender and receive the benefits of ECLIP, and also give them cash assistance to help them in beginning their new life,” Yu said.
“It will address some of the most persistent economic and social problems in the village.”
Saad Barangay Chairperson Jeffrey Señara said they have been clamoring for the road project for a long time, adding it will address some of the most persistent economic and social problems in the village.
Dumingag Mayor Joan Abejuela said the project would spur development in Barangay Saad and nearby areas.