Poor barangays benefit from AFP development projects

MANILA, Philippines - About 50,000 people have benefited from the development projects implemented by the military and private groups in the first six months of the year, the Armed Forces’ National Development Support Command (NADESCOM) said yesterday.

Maj. Emmanuel Garcia, NADESCOM public affairs officer, said the 50,000 beneficiaries are residents of more than 100 poor barangays in far-flung areas.

Citing NADESCOM’s semi-annual report, Garcia said they have completed 22 projects in 103 remote communities in the countryside as of June.

These projects include rural electrification, school buildings, day care and health centers, barangay water systems, and farm-to-market roads.

“More than 5,000 students benefited from the school buildings while thousands of residents, farmers and travelers found relative ease in the newly constructed farm-to-market roads,” Garcia said.

The projects are situated mostly in Davao area, Bicol, Bohol, Negros, Isabela, Samar, and Leyte.

“These (projects) will address some root causes of the (insurgency) problem, particularly on the education sector and the lack of access roads in the remote barangays,” said Maj. Gen. Carlos Holganza, NADESCOM chief.

NADESCOM data show that the projects were funded by the defunct Kalayaan sa Barangay Program (KBP) and partnerships with private donors.

Sixteen of the 22 projects worth P25.9 million were funded by the KBP, which consisted of projects intended to discourage rebellion. The military began implementing these projects before the government decided to stop the program.

The government had allotted P1 billion per year to KBP from 2008 to 2010. For this year, however, President Aquino terminated the funding for the program, saying it “no longer delivered its intended outcomes.”

KBP has been replaced by the Pamana program managed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process.

The remaining six development projects were funded through partnerships with private foundations. Majority of these projects involved the construction of school buildings in depressed areas.

The private sector-funded projects that were accomplished from January to June amounted to more than P4 million.

Holganza said the projects were completed through the combined efforts of the soldiers, local governments, state agencies, non-government groups, and local residents.

“These worthwhile projects were made through the peace and development initiatives of the government, the private sector and genuine care of our peace builder-soldiers through the public-private partnership of our national leadership for our people,” Holganza said.

He said the projects are in line with their security plan Bayanihan, which aims to end insurgency through development. The security plan also seeks to involve all sectors in addressing the lack of access to basic services.

The military had completed a total of 1,670 peace and development projects from 2005 to 2010.