By Liza Agoot/Philippine News Agency
BAGUIO CITY — The Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) here started on Thursday to craft anti-insurgency and poverty alleviation programs for the Cordillera Administrative Region.
“The plans and programs of the clusters will be crafted and finalized that will spell out how the clusters will implement programs and activities to attain the goal of not just to end insurgency but also to provide a better opportunity and life for the people,” National Security Adviser and NTF-ELCAC vice-chairperson Hermogenes Esperon said during the press briefing on the sidelines of the workshop.
The regional task force has a national counterpart in which President Rodrigo Duterte acts as the national task force commander.
Esperon said all the directors –members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)– will come up with plans and programs that will address the concerns of insurgents.
“These issues are being exploited as issues against the government,” he said.
In the two-day regional planning workshop, the participants will come up with the regional action plan and implementing arms of 12 lines of efforts which include: situational awareness and knowledge management; local government empowerment; legal cooperation; strategic communication; sectoral unification, capacity building and empowerment; basic services; poverty reduction, livelihood and employment; infrastructure, resource management and employment; localized peace engagement; peace, law and enforcement and development support; Enhanced Comprehensive Integration Program (E-CLIP) and amnesty program; and international engagement.
National Security Council Undersecretary Vicente Agdamag said they hope to make Cordillera the model in achieving the ELCAC goals.
“We will focus our effort and will emphasize on the delivery of basic services,” Agdamag said.
The goal primary goal of ELCAC is the development of the place and improvement of the lives of the people.
“It’s not only on ending the local communist armed conflict but more than that, it is about regional development at hindi nagtatapos sa pagtigil ng labanan (our effort will not end by ending insurgency),” Agdamag said.
Also during the briefing, a former New People’s Army cadre said the government has the logistics, the resources, and energy but it has to make it felt by the people down to the grassroots and the farthest village in the countryside.
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