Monday, October 30, 2006
Governor warns administration on abuses of civilian volunteers
SOUTH Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes recently warned the Arroyo government against pushing through with its plan to provide local officials blanket authority to organize at least "a battalion each" of armed civilian volunteers to fight terrorism.
Based on the provisions of Executive Order (EO) 546, signed on July 14, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorized the deputization of civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) and the use of barangay tanods as "force multipliers" in the campaign to wipe out terrorist threats.
Fuentes, who attended a two-day security forum for Mindanao mayors and governors in Cagayan de Oro City last week, said Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced that local chief executives may now organize and accredit one battalion or at least 88 CVO members, provide them with firearms, and deputize them as members of the police.
A report from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) cited that the country presently has at least 79 provinces, 117 cities, and 1,501 municipalities spread across 17 regions.
At this count, some 1,697 battalions of CVOs with an exact strength of 149,336 may soon be deputized as auxiliary policemen throughout the country.
"This could be a big help if these deputized CVOs will really serve their purpose. On the other hand, there's the possibility that these CVOs would only be used by some politicians to carry out some favors for them," she told reporters last week.
Fuentes, who attended another security meeting with the President during her visit to Camiguin last October 19, said she has strong reservations over such plan due to its "unclear mechanisms."
She said the National Government should clarify if it has enough funds for the training, purchase of the needed firearms for the CVOs, and the payment of their salaries for at least a year.
Fuentes, the president of the Confederation of Mindanao Governors and Mayors or Confed, stressed that most local government units, especially those in Mindanao, are not capable of meeting such requirements due to budgetary constraints. (Allen V. Estabillo)
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(October 30, 2006 issue)
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