DAVAO CITY, Philippines—At the height of the election campaign in May, a tarpaulin showing top communist rebel Leoncio Pitao, or Commander Parago, shaking hands with then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City was burned by hard-core anticommunist Pastor Jun Alcover and retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan—right at the bosom of insurgency in Paquibato District.
The political gimmick was viewed as highly incendiary and a daring act for Alcover of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (Anad), which was then seeking party-list representation in Congress, and Palparan, who was running for senator.
Both were escorted by fully armed soldiers belonging to the Army’s 69th Infantry Battalion, as was the usual arrangement whenever they entered Paquibato to campaign for their party-list group—and against Duterte, who was then running with his daughter, now Mayor Inday Sara.
In Marilog District, they were protected by soldiers from the 84th IB.
The two battalions are under the 1003rd Infantry Brigade headed by Brig. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario.
It was not quite surprising, therefore, that this week, Mayor Inday Sara withdrew the city’s financial support to Del Rosario, particularly the two commands based in Marilog and Paquibato. But there may be other reasons for her decision.
“I have a lot of military friends who also supported Alcover and Palparan during the elections, but I did not take it against them. The withdrawal of support from the 1003rd IB was my decision as the city mayor,” she told the Inquirer.
“The differences lie in the approach to the problem. And as a local government unit, we do not have the obligation to support them,” she added.
The problem with Del Rosario’s approach to the communist insurgency issue is that it is combat-heavy, something that stands in contradiction to that taken by the city government, she said.
“While the commanding officer is a friend, I do not agree with his internal security plan for the city. It is combat-heavy. I do not think it is the solution,” said Duterte.
For the new mayor, the combat operations being implemented by the military against the New People’s Army are “futile and counterproductive for all the stakeholders.”
“The lives and properties of soldiers, lumad (indigenous peoples), rebels, residents and the local government unit are wasted on the cat-and-mouse game that has become a protracted war between and among Filipinos,” she said.
Comprehensive program
The city government’s way, she explained, is focused on giving a comprehensive program for rebel returnees, support for localized peace initiatives, a literacy program and other forms designed to achieve sustainable peace.
Del Rosario’s command, while it is based in Sto. Tomas town in Davao del Norte, also operates in the hinterlands of Toril, Marilog, Calinan and Paquibato—all known lairs of the NPA. The military estimates rebel strength in these areas at 150.
Sara said military officials should participate in the discussions conducted by the City Peace and Order Council and “ponder on other perspectives in addressing the insurgency problem.”
Del Rosario confirmed that the city government was giving at least P130,000 in monthly financial assistance to purchase food supplies for the 69th and 84th IBs.
“The monthly support is really helping us, especially because we have a number of detachments under our command, but we have an internal support system in the military … we will be able to survive,” he said.
AFP operations on
The military official said operations against the NPA would continue—with or without support from the city government. “We have our own system of support and can live with what we have,” he said.
Like Duterte, Del Rosario said the Armed Forces would want to end the insurgency without “bloodshed.”
“If we can entice the rebels to return to the fold of the law, that is most welcome,” he said.
He praised the city government’s assistance to and rehabilitation of rebel returnees. He, however, said that Mayor Duterte’s description of a “combat-heavy” approach taken by the military might have been brought about by the frequent encounters between soldiers and rebels.
Since January, 15 battles between them have shaken the city.
“We would like the city to be very peaceful and one way is to drive the rebels away from here through the conduct of tactical operations,” Del Rosario said.
Local human rights lawyer Carlos Isagani Zarate said the mayor’s decision to pull back financial support for the military only shows that she knows her history.
“She knows that, as history tells it, the problem of rebellion will not be solved by hawkish or militaristic approach. She knows that there are better ways to solve the problem and that she will do, without the help of the military,” Zarate said.
And perhaps, he said, the new mayor had felt the “frustrations of her father.”
“She has seen that over the years, her father has been supportive of the military while maintaining a friendly relationship with the NPA. And yet, while that approach has brought peace to the city, the war is still there. The insurgency is still there,” he said.
“Perhaps, she doesn’t want to suffer the frustration of her father,” he said.
Another human rights lawyer, Angela Librado-Trinidad, a close friend of the mayor’s, said the decision stemmed from Duterte’s ability to feel the real need of the people.
“She is thinking and feeling as a real woman, who says and decides on what she thinks and feels is correct and right for the people. She really is a grounded woman. She knows the problem of the people,” said Librado-Trinidad, who had served as city councilor.
Zarate said the Aquino administration could learn “a thing or two” from Sara in addressing rebellion in the country.
“She is right now attacking it by giving much attention on the social and historical dimension of rebellion. With this, she can even qualify as one of the advisers of the President for the government to give some sense to what they are doing about rebellion in the Philippines,” he said. –Jeffrey M. Tupas, Philippine Daily Inquirer
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