Last February, during the 65th founding anniversary of the 5th Infantry Battalion (whose area of operations covers Lanao Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur), Tabak Commander Brigadier General Gerardo Barrientos Jr. gave recognition to the vital role of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units or “CAFGUs” in support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) “Bayanihan.”
As a backgrounder, CAFGUs are components of the AFP Ready Reserve detailed to Military Auxiliary Service as provided by Article X, Sec. 61, sub-paragraph 2 of Republic Act 7077 (AFP Reservist Act). Their service as part of the AFP Reserve Force covers those rendered in meeting local insurgency threat. Hence, they are issued and allowed to carry firearms with the clear guidance that their services will only be utilized for the defense of their respective localities and will not be employed outside thereof.
The CAFGU, which replaced the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF) of the Marcos administration, was created on July 25, 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 264 entitled “Providing for the Citizen Armed Force” under the Cory administration. As provided by RA 7077, CAFGU units are to be administered by, and under the operational control of, regular units of the AFP. Philippine Army (PA) infantry battalions assigned to this function, like the 5th IB, are also referred to as “Cadre Battalions”. Acting as force multipliers, and guides for the AFP, they also ameliorate the link between the national army and the local population. In 1993, the Philippine government considered deactivating the CAFGU units due to allegations of human rights abuses and other systemic problems, hence 60 CAFGU units comprising 10,000 troops were disbanded. The government in 1996, recognizing the strategic value of these reserve units in achieving its internal security objectives, eventually reconsidered its decision to completely disband the CAFGU units. To date, many are still very active in its support role to our government’s peace and internal security initiatives.
The strategic value of the CAFGUs to our internal peace and security plan lies in the fact that they are derived from the local population and they provide an immediate and reliable force multiplier for our military and police forces. They play a vital role in protecting the communities since our regular troops could not cover the entire area in the Philippines. Moreover, our military units are rotated and are not permanent in one area; the CAFGUs thus act as the military’s “stay-behind forces” and our first responders in times of calamities. Therefore, they not only have a better knowledge of the local residents, customs and areas to cover in terms of human intelligence. They also provide an able pool of warm bodies to augment emergent manpower gaps against insurgency, terrorism and protection of civilians and government facilities from lawless elements and syndicated groups.
This point is made more significant in light of the growing number of reports about ambushes and business establishments or equipment being burned and destroyed which all point to these terrorists increasing the heat to collect their own version of taxes. We need to keep in mind that the victims of these terrorist activities are not only rich business establishments but also our poor farmers and their families. And although we will not discount that cases of human rights violations and other irregularities have been encountered involving members of the CAFGUs, these actually reflect systemic problems that can and should be addressed through proper legislation and program support and do not warrant the abolition of the CAFGU as espoused by some sectors.
For this reason, I would like to reach out to our friends in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in coming out with the appropriate legislation aimed at strengthening key capabilities of CAFGUs to meet mission requirements, enhance their professionalism, morale and welfare as well as in addressing the lack of accountability checks that have resulted in the abuse of their utilization by local political clans.
They are, after all, putting their lives and those of their families on the line (due to retribution from lawless elements) for the safety and welfare of our local residents. For this reason alone, this should merit due support from our government.