FM Jr: Counterinsurgency news will boost tourism

Speaking last Thursday in Davao City, and formally declaring the Davao Region (Region XI) to be “insurgency-free” after more than 50 years of armed conflict between government security forces and revolutionary fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA), Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated:

“To celebrate this victory, I believe there is no better way to commemorate the eradication of insurgency in Davao than to declare the region as a tourism and investment-ready destination. This declaration serves as a timely platform to boost Davao’s post-pandemic economic growth and leverage the region’s abundant resources and [economic/business] opportunities.”

Then he added: “It is my hope that all the things you have achieved here in Davao can also be replicated across the country.”

The formal declaration ceremony was held in Panacan, Davao City. Earlier, on Oct. 12, the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC, composed of governors of Davao’s five provinces and key military and police officers) had already made its own declaration. The five provinces are Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental.

As achievements, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed the following: A total of 1,749 insurgent fighters had been “neutralized” by the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division since 2016.  Of that total, 107 were declared killed, 217 captured and 1,425 surrendered.

While sounding celebratory, Marcos Jr. also took a cautionary stance. He said, “Moving forward, we take an optimistic and cautious step to mind that the goal of achieving a long, lasting peace and order in the region cannot end just with this declaration.”

Note that he mentioned “long, lasting peace and order” that mainly involves policing work, rather than a broader “lasting peace” which largely entails social, economic and political reforms that peace advocacy groups have been urging for years.

Warning of the possibility of the region going “back to square one,” which he said the government cannot afford to happen, Marcos Jr. told his audience:

“We will need to sustain [the ‘insurgency-free’ declaration] with a whole-of-nation approach to peace and development to prevent terrorist and lawless elements from recruiting, regrouping and regaining power over our countrymen.”

He called on the armed forces, government agencies, local government units and communities to “continue working together to seize the gains in the region and ensure that we will carry this momentum toward the future.”

His statements implied that the counterinsurgency deployment of government troops in tandem with police forces will remain in the region.

To which the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) spokesperson Marco Valbuena replied that the AFP’s “insurgency-free” declaration was “self-deceiving and a huge exaggeration.” In an interview with PhilStar.com, Valbuena pointed out that huge numbers of troops remain in the region:

“Kung wala nang NPA sa Davao Region, bakit napakalaki pa rin ng deployment ng AFP sa lugar, at humihingi pa ng dagdag na badyet? Sila siguro ang dapat tanungin: Kung wala nang NPA sa Davao, may katumbas ba ito ng pagbawas nila ng armadong pwersa doon?”

But in his speech, Marcos Jr. didn’t answer Valbuena’s questions. Instead, he took note of the officially reported decline in the registered investments in the Davao region (more than 61 percent), with tourist arrivals dipping by at least 70 percent. He expressed confidence that with the insurgency-free declaration, the negative trend could be reversed through the coordinated efforts of all “stakeholders.”

“I think you already have begun to reverse the trend and usher in a new era of growth and opportunities for our people,” he told his audience. “Hence, we can say, with a greater level of confidence, that we have heard countless times that Mindanao is the land of promise. Now, let us begin to fulfill that promise.”

Among those who welcomed Marcos Jr.’s pronouncements was Davao Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon, who noted it was “high time” this happened since they are promoting tourism in her province. “We have what it takes to be a premier tourist destination,” she claimed, and Davao Oriental is worth visiting, adding, however, that “the tourism industry is too sensitive to peace and order.”

Davao Oriental’s Provincial POC declared the province “insurgency-free and development-ready” in a resolution issued on Sept. 21, after the NPA’s Guerrilla Front 18 was declared “dismantled” and “all areas of the province are now cleared and [there are] no more ‘influenced areas’ left.”

Some insurgents remain in the province, acknowledged Army Brig. Gen. Oliver Maquiling, but “they can no longer implement the basic functions of the [guerrilla] front.” “We saturated the (NPA) concentration areas with convergence forces, services and interventions,” he bragged.

Earlier this year, two other Davao provinces were declared insurgency free: Davao de Oro and Davao Occidental.

On June 22, shortly before he ceased to be President Duterte’s national security adviser, retired AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. presided over a ceremony in Nabunturan declaring the province insurgency free. The AFP claimed that the eight “full-blown” NPA guerrilla fronts had been “either dismantled or destroyed.”

CPP spokesperson Valbuena told Inquirer.net at the time that there was “widespread disenchantment and indignation” among the people who were being driven away from their lands to “give way to the expansion of tourism projects, mining operations and banana and palm oil plantations in Davao de Oro and across Mindanao.”

Then on Aug. 21, Davao Occidental’s PPOC declared the province insurgency-free. Defense department officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. dispatched a message which stated: “I tip my hat off [sic] to our security forces, the men and women of the [AFP] and the [PNP] who painstakingly worked hard with the [local governments] and the populace to free the province… from insurgency.”

Valbuena wasn’t impressed: “The AFP can believe and declare all they want. For 50 years now, nothing has stopped them from making such grand pronouncements even if they had to eat their words later. And I am certain that they will again eat their words, sooner or later.”

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