Monday, June 30, 2008 Editorial: The art of winning the psy-war
TASK Force Davao commander Colonel Ricardo Rainier Cruz has said last week that they intend to stem the surge of rebel membership in the city, especially in its hinterlands, as well as put an end to the communist rebels' ideological structure.
Big words, indeed, and we say good luck as Colonel Cruz merely sees the solution to the growing insurgency problem as deployment of more troops in hinterland villages of Davao City.
For all those who have lived through the dark days of Davao, when rebels were lording it over not just the suburbs but the congested communities downtown as well, we know that deployment of troops is not the solution. Rather, it's winning the hearts of the communities. There appeared to be no mention of this and thus we can only smell war.
Cruz said that apart from Toril, they will also be targeting the areas wherein there is a strong presence of rebel groups. The districts of Calinan, Baguio, Paquibato, and Tugbok are the areas in the city wherein there is a strong presence of rebel group.
Colonel Leo Cresente Ferrer, chief of staff of the 10th Infantry Division, said that in order for the military to be successful in the drive against the rebel groups, the community must play an active role. Well said, too. But for what?
A community can only rally behind a call, a cause, or an objective if they see the benefits of doing so.
Being treated as mere informants and nothing else never worked before, it will also not work today.
What is going on in Davao City today is not just a battle of guns, it is a battle for attention.
The city remains to be the center of Mindanao, and as such remains to be the prime target of all those who have something to dissent about and want to grab attention.
It is a melting pot of all kinds of people, too -- rebels of all kinds, included -- that has somehow made its people tolerant of other people's beliefs for as long as this does not shatter its peace.
What we have then is a city striving to maintain an image of peacefulness and prosperity while hosting running gunbattles in its hinterlands. What we also have are hinterlands home to thousands of poor lumads and settlers, all dreaming of a better life -- dreams peddled by rebels by the truckload as government presence and services remain scarce.
This calls for an approach that balances growth and anti-insurgency, an approach that requires the faculty of striking at the very roots of insurgency and denying the insurgents the audience and prospects that a rebel movement needs to prosper any further, paired with military offensives targeted with surgical precision.
For the Task Force Davao to hint that it only has military offensive as its solution to the resurgence of insurgency in the city's hinterlands is just too crass, too mediocre, too outdated, too brainless. Here's to hoping that TF Davao has more to offer the city than just their guns and bombs in solving the insurgency problem. The Dabawenyos deserve nothing less.
