KAPALONG, Davao del Norte, Feb. 17 (PIA)—The chief of the farthest barangay in Kapalong gets apprehensive about attempts of the New People’s Army (NPA) to establish communities and to carry out massive recruitment.
Gupitan Barangay Capt. Evangelio Warag revealed the recruitment activities and modes of the rebels to establish communities in his barangay aside and that he divulged last year’s anniversary celebration of New People’s Army was held in one of the sitios in his barangay.
“The NPAs not only require every sitio to produce recruits but they are also enlisting “underage” individuals to join their movement,” Warag said
“Kung walay mopasakop, murag naa silay balaod nga gikahadlukan sa mga tribal leaders. (If nobody would like to be recruited, I think they have a policy that tribal leaders fear of),” he said.
Warag could not outright tell the policy but said the NPAs lengthened their period of stay to conduct seminars from six days to 12 days in areas where they would find it hard to recruit.
To take back recruits
Warag revealed holding a conference with tribal leaders and purok leaders who expressed common desire to stay away from insurgency problem and away from the crossfire between the military and the NPA
“Dili na unta mi hilabtan, (We hope we would be left by ourselves.)” he said.
Tribal leaders would like to take back tribal community members recruited by NPAs. They also wanted the military to return the tribe members who have joined the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU).
He admitted having no problem with the military but Warag had difficulty with NPAs who had various reasons of turning down requests to return their recruits.
“Lisod ang pagbawi sa tribo sa mga misampa sa ilaha, daghan sila alibi. Boluntaryo man daw nga misulod sa ilaha, (It’s difficult to get back those who joined them; they have a number of alibis. “Why get them back when they voluntarily join us?,” they would say.), he said referring to NPAs.
He and the tribal council leaders were thinking of holding a local dialogue with the NPAs whom they had asked to send a representative. While the NPA has yet to respond to the request, the tribal council still has to find somebody to mediate the talk.
Anniversary in Gupitan
Meanwhile, Warag revealed reports that about 300-strong NPA troops gathered in sitio Kawayan to celebrate the NPA founding anniversary on December 26 last year. Warag estimated the area to be about 20 kilometers from the center of Barangay Gupitan.
He feared their continued presence in the sitio where NPAs allegedly demanded that they be given 20 hectares to set up a communal area to plant trees.
Projecting such presence to result in encounters with the military, Warag was particularly concerned about the elementary and high school students whose classes would consequently be disturbed.
Gov’t interventions
On the other hand, 1003rd Infantry Brigade Civil Military Operations officer, Capt Marcelino Rafael in a separate interview said the soldiers have laid out security plans, and peace and development interventions for Gupitan to start within first quarter this year.
Rafael asked tribal community members and leaders to support the peace and development activities that the military will bring to deliver basic services of the government.
The provincial government of Davao del Norte conducted last year the Convergence for Peace and Development in Gupitan, hauling government services with the military and the police, aside from implementing road projects.
It also recently held Oplan ANDAM (Advocacy on Natural Disaster Awareness and Mitigation) in Gupitan to drum community awareness on the need to prepare for disaster due to presence of geological hazards and due to adverse effects of climate change.
The municipal government also pushes funding for projects intended for Gupitan which it highly recommends under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program of the Office of the Presidential Assistance on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Location
Lying at the frontier of Agusan del Sur (in CARAGA Region), Bukidnon (in Northern Mindanao), Compostela Valley Province (adjacent province of Davao del Norte), Barangay Gupitan covers a land area of about 65,000 hectares, Warag said.
Among the tribes living in the area are Manobo, Dibabawon, Umayamnon and Mandaya but Warag said Bukidnon tribes he called as “Tigwahon” have found their way to Gupitan.
Warag said the barangay has 36 registered puroks but 27 other sitios are located at the peripheral areas which, he said, are hard-to-reach. (PIA 11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
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