PIA Davao Region

Enrico "Ka Marco" Curamat DAVAO DEL NORTE, Jan 19 (PIA) --- Armed struggle is no longer the way to go in addressing social injustice. A young former rebel leader of the New Peoples Army (NPA) pointed this out.   Enrico “Ka Marco” Caramat, former political instructor of Sub-regional Guerilla Unit (SRGU) of Southern Regional  Committee (SRC) 5, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) of the Communist Party of the Philippines New People’s Army (CPP-NPA)  said this during his guesting this morning over Sayron Ta! Pakigsayod Serbisyo Alang sa Katawhang Pilipino radio program.   Caramat noted the convergence of  government services that have reached far-flung and peripheral areas even right at the heart of  the communities that the guerilla unit  used to hold its base.   He significantly took note of the “dwindling mass base support”, driving members of the communist insurgency movement to surrender to the government which they had noted to have shifted their focus towards peop

DAVAO DE ORO, January 18 (PIA) - - A community of former supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao de Oro demolished the Salugpungan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogon Igkanogon Community Learning Center in their area. Residents of Sitio Cambudlot, Purok 6 in Barangay San Miguel, Compostela, who acknowledged to have supported before in little ways the communist movement, tear down with hammer, crow bar, and bare hands the Salugpungan school. Rodolfo Eceja, purok leader, stressed that the community also helped in building the Salugpungan school in 2011, knowing that initiators are connected with the NPA.   “Pagtukod niana giagi nilag NGO, pagkahuman konektado lang gihapon sa pikas (NPA), sa mga kaigsoonan pud nato nga naisalaag. Sayod kaayo kay kami atong panahona, kami gihapoy ginasugo pagbarog ana giagig bayanihan.” (When it was built, they passed it through an NGO, which is still connected to the other group (NPA), to our brothers who were lost. We really know about it during those times,

DAVAO DEL NORTE, 17 January (PIA) --- The National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict has to be institutionalized into law for the next national administration to adopt it and sustain the delivery of services to communities.   Police General Filmore Escobal of Regional Police Office XI pitched this call for concrete policy support of the next administration to uphold the principle of “good governance” that has been noted to have paved the way for programs and services of the government to reach far-flung communities.   “So very clear ang mensahe ng ating mga kapatid na itong conflict na ‘to will be ended by good governance, by delivering the needs of communities,” he said in the press conference this morning that was hooked with Tagged: Debunking Lies, Telling the Truth nationally aired through Sonshine Media Network Inc (SMNI) and livestreamed through the Facebook pages of the Presidential Communications Operations Office and the Philippine Information Agency.   Esco

Maj. Gen. Ernesto Torres with a recent NPA surrenderer DAVAO DEL NORTE, Nov. 23 (PIA) -- Major General Ernesto Torres Jr. of the 10 th  Infantry Division recently cited  Executive Order No. 70 as “very effective mechanism” to permanently address all the problems brought about by insurgency”.   He made the statement  as he appealed  lawmakers in Congress and in the Senate to reconsider their  move to slash lean the budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) created thru  E.O. 70 issued by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to focus on addressing the more than 5-decade local communist insurgency problem.   Looking back, Torres recalled the insurgency problem was used to  be primarily addressed only by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).   He confessed the military to  have tried a number of campaign plans such as the  “Lambat Bitag”  among others,  but he said the  gains of such were found not sustainabl

DAVAO CITY, NOV. 17 (PIA)- Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental said the successful programs of the National Task Force- Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) should continue despite calls for the defunding and the eventual abolition of the flagship peace and order approach of the government.   “Sa kasalukuyan napakaganda na nang ating programa especially yung programa sa elcac, napakalaking bagay na binigay ng ating national govt sa mga barangay na conflict affected areas at na kung saan mabigay natin ang solusyon sa mga problema ng sambayanan (Currently our program is doing great particularly the program on ELCAC. It is a great thing the government has given to the barangays which are conflict affected areas where we have given the solutions to the problems of the residents),” the Governor said during his guesting the Network Briefing of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). In Davao Oriental pursuant to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s who

DAVAO DEL NORTE, Nov. 4 (PIA)--- Agila Division commander has expressed hope for the next Presidential administration to support Executive Order No. 70 which institutionalizes the whole of government approach on ending local communist armed conflict.   Guesting at Kapihan sa DavNor, Major General Ernesto C. Torres  of the 10 th  Infantry “Agila” Division viewed E.O. 70  as “the right mechanism to end local communist armed conflict”, having cited a number of campaign  methodologies tried by  the armed forces to end communist insurgency in the Philippines.   “Let’s just hope that the next commander-in-chief and President would be supportive of this particular campaign of ending local communist armed conflict otherwise, there is the risk of going back to square one which all of us peace-loving Filipinos would feel bad about,” he said during such special episode of Kapihan sa DavNor that banners the theme, “Peace Culture and Peace Consciousness.”   In a separate press conference, Torres ex

DAVAO DEL NORTE, Oct. 8 (PIA) -- Former rebels who are Indigenous People (IP) youths from communities in the area of responsibility (AOR) of 60th Infantry Battalion, recently shared their experiences and struggles in the hands of the communist terrorist group (CTG), New People’s Army (NPA). They also exposed the deceptive tactics of the NPAs in recruiting IPs.   In the press conference on October 07 at 60 th  IB headquarters, dubbed as “Deceit, Abuse, and Death: The Naked Truth of the CPP-NPA’s Five Decade Propaganda”, former youth rebels rescued by the government tell their story on how they were deceived by the NPAs.    In his briefing, 60th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, Lt Col Ronaldo Sarmiento, narrated the painful experiences of the rescued IP youths from the Weakened Guerilla Front 3.    Also highlighted were the statements of alias Mayet, 16 years old and was recruited at the age of 14; Cha-cha, who stayed in the armed rebellion for 4 years and 9 months and was recruited at

DAVAO DEL NORTE, 29 Sept (PIA)--- Relatives of Bai Bibyaon Bigkay who has been under the Save our School (SOS) network, yesterday demanded  her return to their community.   In a “live” interview yesterday during the “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” SMNI News, grand daughter Rurelyn Bay-ao called on front organizations of the  so-called communist terrorist group (CTG) to send back home Bibyaon whom she had witnessed was “used” to generate funding from international communities.   During the same SMNI offsite interview, Bay-ao revealed having gone with SOS and Bibyaon, to Thailand, HongKong and Korea to meet funders.   “Pagkatapos po sila magbigay pera, si Bai Bibyaon ang perma thru thumb mark.   (After they handed money, Bibyaon signed thru thumb-mark), ”  Bay-ao said.  “Ayaw na nila, na kung makakauwi si Bai Bibyaon wala na silang instrumento, hindi na sila makapag  propaganda po  (They won’t let Bibyaon go home because they would be losing instrument; the can no longer do their propaganda,” s