'Scrapping of KBP funding won't affect anti-insurgency drive'

MANILA, Philippines - Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David yesterday gave assurance that the scrapping of the funds for the Kalayaan Barangay Program (KBP) would not affect counter-insurgency efforts.

David, however, admitted that the termination of the KBP funding would require more coordination with other state agencies that would implement projects in rebel-influenced areas.

“We are very confident that the projects in the conflict areas will be continued. We have government agencies (and the) AFP can pitch in… The government projects in far-flung areas will push through,” he said in an ambush interview at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“I think it’s just a matter of coordination between agencies. There will be no great impact (on the drive against insurgency). This will depend on the process of coordination with agencies,” he said.

The KBP consists of projects designed to bring development in the countryside and to discourage people from joining armed groups. Such projects include the construction of school buildings, water systems, and farm-to-market roads.

State entities such as the education and public works departments and the Local Water Utilities Administration coordinate with the AFP so the projects can be undertaken in areas considered as rebel strongholds.

The government had allotted P1 billion per year for KBP from 2008 to 2010. For next year, however, President Aquino decided to terminate the program, saying it “no longer delivered its intended outcomes.”

David said they would prefer that the funds for such countryside development projects are pooled under the KBP.

“We have not terminated (the projects) in totality. (The funds) were just placed in the departments where they originally belong. The government has the option whether to pool them or give them to the respective agencies,” he said.

“If we pool the funds, the coordination would be easier… If the Department of Education or Department of Public Works and Highways will pool those, we’ll give them the project immediately,” he added.

David said he is optimistic that the new defense plan to be implemented in 2011 would put an end to communist insurgency.

The military has said that the new plan, which will replace Bantay Laya, will focus on civil-military operations and development initiatives rather than on armed operations.

Bantay Laya, which was launched in 2002, lapsed last June 30 without achieving its goal to wipe out the decades-old insurgency in the country. 

The AFP has claimed that the strength of the communist movement in the country has declined to around 4,700 fighters from a peak of 25,200 in 1987.