BY: REY ANTHONY H. CHIU
BOHOL, July 2 (PIA) –"They are hurting." Thus implies 2nd Special Forces Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Julius Tomines, at the report that progressive peasant groups allied with Hugpong sa mga Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL) are now incessantly demanding the removal of army development workers deployed in some barangays in Bohol.
The demands for removal of troops are mostly in barangays which have been tagged as either insurgency affected or influenced and where legal front organization members are living.
Military sources believed the demand for army pullout is in relation to the apparent incapacity of the legal group members to reorganize and put up a semblance of regained control of the community which used to be a reliable strong mass base support.
Bohol attained “insurgency-free” status since 2009 and it has been said that communist insurgents held a tenacious grip and control of Bohol, sowing fear so the people remain submissive and could easily be pushed to support a protracted war.
The declaration came after armed groups in Bohol fled to the neighboring islands following intensive military and civil operations which all had poverty alleviation in its crosshairs.
But life for the fleeing rebels outside Bohol was getting harder that several of them are now trying to reconnect with their mass base in Bohol in preparation for their come back, military intelligence reports revealed.
The same barangays which used to cover under the fear of fire-arms have sworn back to support the government and are implementing government development projects through the Countryside Development Program-Purok Power Movement (CDP-PPM) and its volunteers.
At the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting held in Dagook Park of Catigbian town recently, Col. Tomines told council members that progressive groups allied with the left have been vocally demanding the ouster of army development workers deployed under the CDP-PPM.
But instead of getting alarmed, Col Tomines took the development at a positive note.
It shows our efforts are effective for their angry reaction means that the troops’ presence may have stymied their activities, Col Tomines pointed out.
It means that they can not get back in and reconnect with their mass base because somebody is watching, Tomines hinted.
The army soldiers here have long placed their firearms aside and the hammer, saw and construction equipment became their new weapons in the bigger and nobler task of nation building, according to Special Forces Information Officer Captain Jiro Poblacion.
With a perceived need to restore government trust from communities, the troops assigned to maintain the peace in Bohol partnered with civil society groups and implemented community development works under the CDP-PPM, explained Liza Quirog, program coordinator. (mbcn/rahc/PIA7-Bohol)