28,415 barangays declared stable, peaceful — NTF-ELCAC
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) reported over the weekend that around 28,415 villages in 60 provinces nationwide are now under Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) declarations.
The NTF-ELCAC emphasized that ongoing government development programs in communities formerly affected by armed conflict are among the reasons insurgents are steadily losing influence in the countryside.
"For NTF-ELCAC, the 28,415 SIPS barangays across 60 provinces represent a stark measure of how much ground the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front) armed insurgency has lost,” the task force said.
The task force said most of the villages, around 21,614, “are already part of nine entire regions under SIPS, while another 6,801 belong to SIPS provinces in regions moving toward the same goal.”
With the increase in SIPS declarations, the task force said “the challenge now is to ensure that peace, development and democratic governance permanently occupy the ground insurgency has lost.”
NTF-ELCAC deputy director for operations Rodrigo Lutao said “expanding the SIPS map cannot be separated from the government's development offensive in communities previously affected by armed conflict.”
He said that as of Sept. 29, the Barangay Development Program (BDP) had reached 5,638 formerly conflict-affected villages, backed by P44.90 billion in development investments benefiting an estimated 16.03 million Filipinos.
The investments, he said, “have translated into concrete interventions on the ground: 955 classrooms, 1,587.02 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, 23,681 streetlights, 1,169 water and sanitation systems, 9,264 electrification projects, and 547 health and medical stations.”
This year, the government allocated P8.08 billion for projects in 808 cleared villages, including the construction of roads, schools, water systems, health stations and electrification facilities.
"The SIPS and BDP figures therefore tell two interconnected stories: the shrinking space for armed insurgency and the expanding presence of government and development. As armed influence recedes, the government is seeking to consolidate peace by bringing roads, electricity, potable water, education, health services, livelihoods and economic opportunities into communities previously vulnerable to conflict," Lutao added.