by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Jan 21 (PIA) – Most
people have this mindset that government security forces and even para-military
troops exist only to protect the people and safeguard civilians from armed
confrontation.
The belief then was that military forces for
that matter should not do anything else but to carry arms and ensure that
civilians are protected from armed lawless groups. Undeniably, this is their
primary concern and mission.
Recently, however, things are changing. For
the past few years, we have seen some significant changes in the security
sector. More recently, there evolved a paradigm that the military in the
Philippines has embraced to challenge its forces in bringing about human
security through what it called the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) “Bayanihan”.
According to the military, the 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 and this
was implemented in 2011 and will be in effect until 2016.
In an area like Basilan, the troubled island,
south of the Philippines with deep-rooted and complex history of violence and
conflict, this paradigm shift is very much a welcome development. For a
military official to be assigned in Basilan, the challenge is enormous.
The change project in Basilan
Maj. Franco Raphael H. Alano, Deputy U7 of
Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM), formerly assigned in Joint Task Force
Basilan, took the challenge when he decided to become a fellow of the Bridging
Leadership (BL) Program of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and to
center his change project on constituency-building of security forces in
Lantawan municipality in Basilan.
Adapting the BL framework of ownership,
co-ownership, and co-creation, Alano began his journey with the CAFGUs
(Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit) who are based in Lantawan, together
with some regular military and police personnel assigned in Lantawan. On
September 2012, a comprehensive community involvement training was conducted to
20 CAA, 9 cadre leaders, 3 military regulars, and 4 PNP personnel.
He said that Lantawan was chosen as the site
for his change project because data in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) reveals that the town is one of the poorest municipalities in the
region. It is also one of those areas with the lowest revenues in ARMM and significantly has low employment rate.
The other reason was that Alano’s family root
is from Lantawan. It is a way of giving back to his community, he said. He
added that the municipality had perennial issues and believes that implementing
his change project in the area will have significant impact.
Historically speaking, Lantawan has been the
haven of the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, which victimized hundreds of
civilians in the 90’s. At the helm of former Mayor Tahira Ismael from 2001-2010,
the terrorists group was slowly driven out of the area with the help of the
civilians, the military and the police. And yet, the stigma of the terrorism
continues to shy away investors in the area.
Alano’s journey
For almost six months, Alano has engaged his
target beneficiaries in various capability-building activities in partnership
with various government agencies and non-government organizations in the
province, to include the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), the local government of Lantawan and community
leaders, the Philippine Information Agency, the Philippine National Police, the
Department of Interior and Local Government, the provincial government of
Basilan, the Nagdilaab Foundation Inc., and the Asia Foundation.
Alano said that all these efforts are towards
attaining the vision of a peaceful and progressive Lantawan as a result of
partnership, shared vision and collaborative efforts of community members and
security forces.
At the start, Alano admitted to be a bit
skeptical about the project to the point of quitting at the middle of it. But
his journey with the CAFGUs that showed signs of potentials and a lot of
interests and with the support of various stakeholders drove him back on track.
As a military man, Alano was committed to the
mission of the project, i.e., “to increase the awareness and involvement of
security forces in community affairs in order to allow them to assist community
leaders in designing, improving, and implementing peace and development
programs.”
Towards a sustained effort
Miriam L. Suacito, Nagdilaab Foundation Executive
Director and BL coach-mentor of Alano said that the whole concept of the change
project was not only confined with the security sector but with community
participation. The idea, she said was that the security sector as part of the
community will have a significant involvement in its development, more than the
task of peace-keeping.
Like any other programs and projects, the
sustainability of the efforts is challenged. In a month or two, Alano will be
finishing his BL fellowship program. He recognized that sustainability of the
project is his biggest challenge. He, however, assured that he remains
committed and confident that the project will continue because the BL framework
has already been put in place even in his absence.
It may sound strange, but Alano looks forward
to the day when the military will become irrelevant because in the near future
Lantawan already enjoys peace and order with dignity.