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Monday, June 26, 2006
Labella wary on use of tanods
A CEBU City legislator believes that barangay tanods “seem to be not the appropriate support force” for the military and that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) should rethink its plan to use them in the “all-out war” against insurgency.
He said that unlike soldiers, tanods are not combatants by orientation and training.
President Arroyo has vowed to wipe out the decades-old insurgency problem in two years and, last June 16, ordered the budget department to release P1 billion to finance the operations of the Armed Forces and the police against the New People’s Army (NPA).
The DILG plans to mobilize barangay tanod forces nationwide to complement the soldiers.
Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella, however, is apprehensive of the set-up, and will ask colleagues this Wednesday to join him in urging DILG to “thoroughly explore all ramifications attendant to (the) plan.”
He also said history has taught us that a military approach to the problem is not a solution.
“It would really do good if the concerned agencies of the government would pause and reflect whether or not guns and bullets, instead of negotiating tables, are the best means to mend the conflicts gripping our land,” Labella said.
“It is not the superiority of arms that determines the outcome of an armed stand-off, but, to a large extent, the public’s perception of what group possesses the moral or political high ground,” he added.
Greater role
Meanwhile, a top official of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 is supporting the move to give the police equal authority as that of the military in the fight against insurgency.
Citing instances when policemen or police stations became the targets of rebel attacks, Senior Supt. Lani-o Nerez said empowering policemen in the fight against rebels will not only improve their mobility and communications equipment, but also “their will to fight.”
Nerez, PRO 7’s deputy regional director for operations, said the Department of National Defense and the DILG have recommended to President Arroyo that the Philippine National Police (PNP) adopt a “paradigm shift” in favor of a more direct role in internal security operations.
Forefront
This means, Nerez said, the police will now be at the forefront in the aggressive operations against insurgents.
The recommendation came after Arroyo announced the government’s intensified campaign against communist rebels.
At present, it is the Armed Forces that leads the internal security operations. The PNP supports them.
While he agreed that going back to the negotiating table is ideal to solve the problem, Nerez said the “sincerity” of the other party is still debatable.
Nerez, who has a broad experience on the insurgency problem, particularly in Bohol Province, noted that rebels take advantage of ceasefires to either attack targets or strengthen their organization. (RHM/JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 26, 2006 issue)
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