‘Government to win hearts and minds of NPA rebels’

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said yesterday the government will launch civic and social service projects to win back the hearts and minds of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

"These projects include health care, livelihood training and opportunities, construction of water facilities and low-cost housing along with other socio-civic initiatives in insurgency-wracked areas," he said.

Puno said part of the P1-billion counterinsurgency fund will be used to finance the projects, contrary to the misperception that the money would be spent solely on military operations against the NPA.

"Rather than brand this as an all-out war, this is more accurately an all-out effort to combat the insurgency problem," he said.

Puno, who is also chairman of the National Police Commission, said the Philippine National Police will get P300 million out of the P1-billion supplemental budget released by President Arroyo recently.

The amount will enable the PNP to fortify "soft targets" or ill-equipped police stations and carry out socio-civic activities in rebel hotbeds, he added.

Puno said the PNP must assume a "shared responsibility" in the counterinsurgency campaign, given the recent spate of NPA attacks on police stations.

Barangay policemen or "tanod," who will remain unarmed, should be tapped to gather information that would help maintain peace and order in their areas, he added.

Puno said part of the P300 million in funds released to the PNP will be used to deploy the Special Action Force and regional mobile troops to fight the NPA.

At least 15 NPA attacks on police stations in various parts of the country have led to the death or kidnapping of policemen, he added.

Puno said tapping barangay tanods in the counterinsurgency campaign is in keeping with the provisions of Republic Act 8551, which gives the PNP a supportive role in fighting rebels and limits the role of local governments to information-gathering.

Peace and Order Councils nationwide would also have to tackle the counterinsurgency in formulating their peace and order plans, he added.

Puno said two separate executive orders would have to be issued by Mrs. Arroyo to give the PNP a shared responsibility in the counterinsurgency campaign and to deputize barangay tanods in the information-gathering efforts.

These presidential directives are necessary to enable local governments, whose budgets include allocations for crime prevention, to fund the counterinsurgency campaign in their localities, he added.