EDITORIAL - Local governments should help

A week after 19 soldiers were killed in an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front militants in Basilan, President Aquino vowed “all-out justice” yesterday, promising to fight those who threaten public safety. Though the pursuit may already be too late, with the MILF widening its attacks over the weekend to Sumisip town in Basilan as well as Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay, the order from the President should improve protection for unarmed civilians.

The commander-in-chief and his troops cannot win this fight alone. Keeping the peace and keeping out violent elements work best when communities are involved, under the efficient supervision of local governments. Helping maintain peace and order is one of the tasks of barangay officials. They are the representatives of government at the grassroots, and are being paid by taxpayers to be able to identify troublemakers in their neighborhoods. Basilan is not an overpopulated urban center. What are its barangay officials doing, apart from attending the wakes of slain constituents?

All over the country, there are peace and order councils at provincial and regional levels. They are supposed to galvanize the community into action especially when state resources are not enough to secure neighborhoods. What are the councils doing in the areas now affected by MILF attacks?

In May 2001, after the Abu Sayyaf raided an island resort in Puerto Princesa City and seized 20 hostages, local government officials and residents of Palawan banded together to patrol their own communities. It took about two years for tourism, Palawan’s main industry, to recover. But since then there has been no repeat of the raid, and these days the people of Palawan like to say that theirs is one of the country’s safest provinces.

Basilan obviously has worse security problems, but surely communities are willing to help secure their own lives and property. With coordination and leadership, especially by local officials, this should not prove to be an impossible task.