‘Insurgencies licked in 6-10 years’

The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) intend to lick the country’s insurgency problem in six to 10 years.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. made public this timeframe during Defense Night with the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) chaired by STAR publisher and columnist Max Soliven, held at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City Wednesday evening.

Cruz explained that the defense and military program in defeating the country’s 30-year-old communist insurgency and other threat groups is embodied in the Philippine Defense Reform Program.

Cruz unveiled this program during the forum that was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps including those from India, Libya, the United States, Singapore and Great Britain.

"The AFP can defeat the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in six to 10 years," Cruz said, as he pointed out the country had endured so much because of the 30-year-long insurgency problem.

"If we are going to be attuned to the 21st century, it is an unacceptable attitude that we will have the communist insurgency for another 30 years," Cruz said.

Aside from the communist insurgency problem, Cruz said that all other internal security threats, including those coming from terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf and the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, would have to be addressed by then.

However, top-ranking police officials present at the forum described Cruz’s timeframe as unrealistic.

One of them, Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales, who once served as police provincial commander in the communist-infested Quezon province, said the military’s self-imposed timeframe would be difficult to achieve.

"There are many factors to be considered here. We at the PNP (Philippine National Police) had also developed a plan to defeat the NPA but sadly, we have fallen short in our objective. Medyo mahirapan tayo dyan (We may have a hard time with that)," Rosales said.

Quezon is one of many areas that remain a hotbed of communist rebellion. The military estimates that most of the 8,000 to 8,500 communist fighters are operating in this southern Luzon province and nearby regions.

For the 10-year defense projection to defeat security threats from within, Cruz said a P1 billion fund will be allocated to the Philippine Defense Reform Program aimed at modernizing the military through the already programmed Comprehensive Upgrade Plan (CUP).

AFP acting chief Vice Admiral Ariston delos Reyes said he is optimistic that the military projection to defeat the insurgents will be attained as scheduled.

"By that time, we expect the countryside to have already been cleared of (communist) insurgents," Delos Reyes said.

Cruz said under the CUP the defense department will invest heavily in professionalizing the AFP rank and file and equipping their foot soldiers to fight the communist insurgents, as the AFP shifts its priority to addressing internal security threats instead of investing in territorial defense.

"Aside from this funding, the defense department is also looking for other sources of funding to ensure the continuity until the objective is attained," Cruz said.

In line with this, the defense chief said foreign assistance in the form of military equipment as promised by China will be used to build the so-called "Kalayaan Barangay" roads aimed at "liberating" far-flung villages from the control of the insurgents.

Aside from China, the United States has been providing regular assistance to the country’s ongoing fight against the insurgents, whom the US government has classified as terrorists.

The assistance comes in the form of military training, financial and logistical aid.