Local peace engagement is the most effective approach to weaken the influence of communist-terrorist groups in the countryside, an official of the country’s anti-insurgency task group said on Saturday.

“Ang localized peace engagement po iyong nakikita na natin ngayon na pinakamabisang approach sa pagtugon po doon sa drivers of conflict of the communist insurgency,” Director Alexander Umpar of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said in a news forum in Quezon City.

Umpar noted that the approach has helped strengthen the government’s efforts to prevent vulnerable communities from falling into the ideological traps of the leftist group by actively engaging with target communities.

Umpar discussed the Retooled Community Support Program under the said approach which has allowed communities to participate in identifying the issues that may have caused others to turn to armed conflict.

“Dito sa prosesong ito, ang mga lokalidad, ang mga members ng ating barangay l, ay hinihimok na sumali sa community-based decision-making. So ito rin iyong pagpapalawak ng tinatawag nating civic space ng ating mga people’s organizations, ng ating mga communities,” he said.

“Isa ito sa pamamaraan na makita natin o malaman natin kung anu-ano ang mga problema na nagaganap lalo na sa kanilang seguridad, sa kanilang pamumuhay doon sa mga communities nila,” he added.

The identified issues then become the bases for a community to be given assistance under the Barangay Development Program (BDP), the flagship program of the NTF-ELCAC. Projects under this include farm-to-market roads, school buildings, health centers, electrification and water system.

According to Umpar the government has allocated a total of Php28.4-billion for the development of 3,187 barangays across the country since 2021. *PND*