REGIONAL NEWS

RTF-ELCAC holds stakeholders forum, reviews PPAs in villages under retooled CSP

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

The members of the Regional Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in Caraga region continue to address the pressing issue on insurgency and intensify campaign against the terrorist Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPPNPA).

This effort continues even amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, where the government ensures the safety and protection of its people. 8 | July 18-24, 2020 A stakeholders forum was initiated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Caraga with the aim to visit and review the assistance extended by the local government

units, as well as the priority projects, programs and activities which are lined up for implementation in the barangays under the retooled community support program that need immediate action and response.

In the said forum, DILG-Caraga regional director Lilibeth Famacion urged all the members of the task force to strengthen its strategies and mechanism in solving the problem on insurgency in order to fully attain lasting peace and development in the region despite the ongoing threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major Francisco Garello, Jr., the civil-military operations officer of the 402 Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army also presented the different projects under the Community Support Program (CSP).

Meanwhile, concerned government agencies also took part in the workshop and shared their proposed programs, projects, and activities that could be implemented in the conflict-affected barangays of Caraga region.

These include the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Army and other members of the task force. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)