Hope in the Philippines' Last Frontier

MANILA, Philippines - “We need to have a ‘whole of nation’ approach in the Kalayaan Islands,” muses Lieutenant General Juancho Sabban, chief of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “However, that does not mean that we are abandoning our responsibility to provide security. It just means that where the road ends, the trouble begins.”

He notes that statistics and databases don’t always reflect the true state of the Philippines. gThere is a need to extend beyond where the road ends, and reach out to many more communities,” he says.

 Students of WESCOM Elementary School in Puerto Princesa, Palawan are some of the beneficiaries of five classrooms being built by the AFP Western Command in partnership with TEN Moves!, the public fundraising campaign to build 10,000 classrooms nationwide.

Sabban’s experience is illuminated in his reflections. Previously serving as Deputy Commander of the AFP’s Southern Command, he has helped provide holistic solutions for communities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to address counter-insurgency – and these were not due to military tactics alone.

As Western Command chief, he now hopes to replicate the achievements that he and his team have done for underserved communities.

Sabban explains that the common fault of military commanders is simply looking at where the enemies are stationed. He points out that there is a bigger need to also study the history, demographics, and social situation of affected communities. This is what he had done in the southern part of the Philippines – addressing social conflict in areas like Sulu and Basilan, albeit with solutions that one wouldn’t usually associate with the Philippine Marines.

“Schools were built in Sulu and Basilan, yet there was also a shortage of teachers, so our lieutenants were teaching subjects like computer literacy,” he shares. “We also provided water and road systems. This is how insurgency and terrorism should be addressed – solutions must be provided where poverty is the root cause.”

“There was a connection between water and education,” Sabban continues. “Everyday, a mother tells her child to fetch water, which took one hour travel from the home to the water source. How do you expect the child to have energy left for studying?”

“What we had done was to provide the water source 20 meters from the houses, so as not to consume the energy of the children,” he says. “What we saw was that the communities protected the water sources, so there was a shared responsibility. ”

Sabban further talks about what the Philippine Marines have done for these communities, including partnering with donors and concerned groups in providing slippers for the children and conducting medical missions. He also shares an interesting way to impart lessons to the communities.

“Saturdays are Popcorn Nights, when we show movies for the kids, and the Imam would teach topics such as good manners and proper hygiene. We were also able to distribute 10,000 crank radios,” shares Sabban. “What was initially an activity intended for the kids eventually involved their parents, so it became a unique model for education.”

Moving from communities that are vulnerable to insurgency to communities that are vulnerable to threats such as human trafficking, Sabban says the solutions are the same.

“We need to build schools and provide books to underserved communities,” he emphasizes.

As part of efforts to make a difference to underserved communities in the Western Command’s jurisdiction, Sabban and the Western Command have partnered with TEN Moves! to build five classrooms in impoverished but largely populated areas in Palawan. These areas include Brgy. Mangsee in Balacbac, Brgy. Banbanan in Taytay, Brgy. Ransang in Rizal and Brgy. Tagbita in Bataraza, as well as the construction of one classroom inside the Western Command’s compound itself.

Brgy. Mangsee is located in the southernmost tip of the Philippines and has no government presence, except for the Philippine Marines. Meanwhile, at the WESCOM Elementary School, the shortage of classrooms has led to three kids sharing one desk.

The classrooms constructed are all pre-fabricated, taking about 10 days to install, and meet the Department of Education’s standard specifications. Through the efforts of DN Steel and Ultra Insulated Corp., the materials for the classrooms were transported in container vans, shipped from the Batangas port to Puerto Princesa. The classrooms are equipped with an insulation system and could be dismantled to be installed in a different site if the need arises. With the assistance of DN Steel and Ultra fs technical consultants, volunteers from the Philippine Marines were able to construct the classrooms in 10 days.

“We were worried about where to place the children, but we are thankful that there would be new classrooms. Our prayers have been answered,” says WESCOM principal Imelda Oblan.

These “Klasrums ng Pag-Asa” were turned over to the communities recently. For Palawan fs underserved communities, this means freedom from ignorance, hope for their children’s futures.

“We have to improve the education and the economy of these communities, so that they won’t be blindly lured to be trafficked,” he explains. gAt the end of the day, education is our best defense.”

To learn more about TEN Moves! visit www.tenmoves.org or email [email protected].