by Rene V. Carbayas
In the launching ceremony held at the Basilan Provincial Capitol grounds, 104th Brigade Commander Col. Ricardo Visaya (PA) said that many do not have a good grasp of the conflict and war in Basilan. “It takes a lot of understanding in solving the problem and we are making some changes in our approach, thus we have the Internal Peace and Security Plan or the Bayanihan,” he said.
He said 80% of the soldiers deployed as Bayanihan Teams are Muslims. He is confident that the teams could make a difference in their assigned communities, hoping that their presence in the community will bring about some changes soon.
“The success of soldiers cannot be measured by the number of wars won, but on how we maintain the peace,” Visaya stressed as he appealed for more collaboration and coordination of efforts toward the attainment of peace and development in Basilan.
Meanwhile, Basilan Vice Governor Al-Rasheed Sakkalahul lauded the military for strengthening its civil-military works through the Bayanihan Teams. He reminded the soldiers about their role in promoting and encouraging feuding families to amicable settlement of disputes or ‘rido’ as part of their mission.The Bayanihan Teams are also expected to conduct medical and dental outreach programs, assist in the construction of farm-to-market roads, school buildings, comfort rooms, and day care centers, among others.
“Let our constituents feel that the advocacies and purpose of government is for community development contrary to some people’s perception that the presence of the military will pose danger to them,” Sakkalahul said addressing the team members.
“Instead mag-gyera [war], misyon niyo ay how to get the sympathy of the people and cooperate with authorities,” he added.
The vice governor also thanked President Benigno Aquino III that “instead of declaring all-out-war in the province, he declared all-out-justice; and I believe this is part of it.”Tuesday’s event also marked the signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the military, police, and the provincial government of Basilan regarding the creation of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee (JPSCC) that will ensure that enforcement organizations will be well coordinated towards peace and development of the island province.
Basilan Police chief S/Supt. Alex Lineses declared that “in PNP, it is our inherent mandate to create an environment conducive for our people to live and do business in a sustaining peace and order, anchored on national security policies and strategy.”
He said the “matuwid na daan of President Aquino administration is geared towards capability in responding to insurgency problems of multi-stakeholders and in maintaining stability of the State.”
Lineses hopes that the dream of a paradise in Basilan will not remain a wish-list. He looks forward to the day when he and Col. Visaya would get old and come back to Basilan as tourists as many other tourists would flock to Basilan.
The Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) “Bayanihan” promulgates the cooperation and unity of the citizenry to bring progress and development to the community towards achieving the ultimate goal of “Winning the Peace”. It takes a paradigm shift from the traditional military method of addressing peace and security issues and places heavy emphasis instead on civil military operations. (RVC/PIA-9 ZBST)