At least 822 remote villages recently liberated from communist influence by the military and the police will soon start getting the benefits of their cooperation with the government as the Department of Budget and Management has released P16.4 billion for the Barangay Development Program whose primary purpose is to end the poverty caused by insurgency.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., vice chairman of the National Task Force-End Local Communist Armed Conflict, welcomed the release of the development funds and expressed gratitude to Congress for including the funds in the 2021 General Appropriations Act.
The P16.4 billion was included in the P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget.
In a statement sent to reporters, Esperon said at least 822 barangays nationwide that had been declared free of New People’s Army influence would each receive P20 million in projects and activities through the BDP.
“The BDP is the flagship program of the Duterte administration for poverty alleviation and development in the context of addressing the root causes of insurgency,” Esperon said.
President Rodrigo Duterte is the chairman of the NTF-ELCAC.
Esperon says while the NTF-ELCAC is primarily tasked to dismantle the New People’s Army and its allied underground organizations, it is also committed to develop the areas formerly held or influenced by the communist rebels to uplift the lives of the people.
“While the communist rebels took advantage of the poverty and perceived lack of government presence in these areas, we at NTF-ELCAC are committed to deliver government services to these barangays,” Esperon said.
“We intend to curb the NPA recruitment through holistic development projects that bridge the gap between the needs of the community and accessibility.”
For Davao, a total of P4.3 billion is allocated for 279 barangays that can be used for several projects.
Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado has already issued Local Budget Circular 135, which will serve as the guidelines in releasing NTF-ELCAC’s Local Government Support to the Barangay Development Program.
Recipients can use the funds for farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, rural electrification, housing, medical, burial, transportation, food, cash-for-work and educational assistance to indigent people or households, the DBM said.
And due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these barangays may also spend their respective budget allocations to build health stations or fund initiatives related to COVID-19 vaccinations, among others, the guidelines said.
Also included among the projects to be funded by the LGSF-SBDP are “reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair and other similar projects in connection with the occurrence of natural or human-induced calamities, epidemics, crises resulting from armed conflicts, insurgency, terrorism and other catastrophes, Avisado said.
Meanwhile, Esperon appealed to the private sector to join the government in its effort to improve these specific barangays.
“The NTF-ELCAC, through the Whole of Nation Approach (WONA) truly values improving the lives of Filipinos, unlike the eccentric violence of the CPP-NPA. This is the type of confidence building mechanism we need; not a self-destructing measure,” Esperon said.
Our strategic framework entails the achievement of a genuine and lasting peace through holistic programs and activities. In spirit and in truth, the core of the NTF-ELCAC is good governance in practice.”