THIS is another good news for advocates of the vaunted Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay or R-PSB program of the Philippine National Police which has been proven to be a major factor in defeating the New People’s Army insurgency.

Latest word is that the Regional Development Council 11 has endorsed a House bill that will institutionalize the R-PSB program of the police force which has been attracting the full support of the ‘poorest of the poor’ particularly those living in far-away areas once under the influence of the New People’s Army.

Last Friday, I learned that the RDC 11 threw its full support behind House Bill 7348 which champions the institutionalization of the R-PSB program to bolster community safety and progress during a meeting at the regional office of the National Economic and Development Office.

During the meeting, former Davao Oriental Representative Mayo Almario, the bill’s original proponent underscored the positive impact of the R-PSB program on local communities as he emphasized that the presence of police personnel through the R-PSB initiative has instilled a heightened sense of security among residents.

I learned that the driving force behind the project, Area Police Command-Eastern Luzon director Lieutenant General Filmore Escobal reported to the council the significant strides made under the R-PSB program in Northern and Southern Mindanao and Caraga region during the meeting.

The official said that within his jurisdiction encompassing Regions 10, 11 and 13, a total of 1,033 Barangay Development Program (BDP)- beneficiary barangays have achieved 100 percent deployment.

This, Lt. Gen. Escobal explained, has been made possible by the dedicated efforts of 2,297 R-PSB cadres to ensure the safeguarding of vital development projects under the purview of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC.

As a result, the classmate of PNP chief General Benjie Acorda from Philippine Military Academy ‘Sambisig’ Class of 1991 said that there has been a marked decrease in non-violent activities and crimes perpetrated by NPA rebels in the three regions.

He particularly cited that in Region 11, there has been no Communist Terrorist Group or CTG- initiated violent incidents in the past two years. Equally significant is the observed trend of surrenderees renouncing the path of violent armed struggle, Lt. Gen. Escobal told me.

I learned that NEDA 11 regional director Maria Lourdes Lim, also the concurrent RDC 11 vice-chairperson, apprised the council of the widespread support garnered by the R-PSB program on a national scale.

The NEDA official said that 10 Regional Development Councils across the country have resoundingly endorsed the institutionalization of the program including RDC 4-A Calabarzon region; RDC 4-B in MIMAROPA region; RDC 7 in Central Visayas; RDC 10 in Northern Mindanao; RDC 12 in Soccsksargen region; RDC 13 in Caraga region; RDC Bangsamoro Administrative Region; RDC Cordillera region and RDC 11 in Southern Mindanao.

The official, likewise, no no highlighted the key role played by the R-PSB program in President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s declaration of Davao Region as Insurgency-Free in October 2022. Thus, Davao Oriental Governor Niño Uy proposed two pivotal motions as he and his peers called for the R-PSB institutionalization during the meeting.

The first motion seeks to endorse the institutionalization of the R-PSB program to the Senate, encouraging the filing of a counterpart bill while the second motion urges President Marcos to accord the bill with urgent certification. Thus, they need all the help they can get from Senate President Migz Zubiri and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The endorsement of House Bill 7348 by RDC 11 takes into account the pivotal role played by the R-PSB program in fortifying the safety and prosperity of communities across the region amid a vision of a new era of enhanced security in Mindanao to further help bring progress to the region.

R-PSB personnel in other parts of Luzon and Visayas are also giving back to poor residents what the NPA cannot give them literally earning the populace’s support in the continuing fight of the government to finally end the 5-decades long communist insurgency.

Upon instruction of Gen. Acorda, the PNP Directorate for Police-Community Relations headed by Major Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo is supervising a ‘whole-of-nation approach’ of the force in Northern Samar and Bicol region to finally defeat the insurgency problem in the province which has been seen as a major reason behind its stunted economic growth and development thru the years.

A former deputy regional director of the Police Regional Office 11 when it was still under Escobal, Maj. Gen. Okubo is leading the government’s move in the province with the implementation of the vaunted R-PSB program in the area amid President Marcos Jr.’s optimism that the NPA problem in the area will be finally resolved by the end of the year.

A total of 583 R-PSB-trained personnel of the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) are now on a mission to ‘win back the hearts and minds of the people’ in the province, having mingled with the villagers and help start various programs and projects aimed at bringing real government service to the populace.

Gen. Acorda has ordered Okubo to implement the R-PSB program nationwide in order for the police to further gain the support of the people living in so-called Geographically Isolated and Disadvantageous Areas like Samar and help them turn their back from the NPA movement.

Under their R-PSB program, police have been assigned in communities in Samar known for having a heavy NPA influence so that they can bring real government service to the people. Presence of the NPA which is known for exacting so-called ‘revolutionary tax’ and attacking companies who fail to heed their demand is a major factor why investors are shying away from Northern Samar.

The R-PSB program of the PNP has seen police building roads, small bridges, artesian wells, water system, schools and even small churches while providing government service to the poorest of the poor especially those living in poor areas.

At present, a total of 1,787 R-PSB-trained PNP personnel are now deployed in former NPA ‘hotbeds’ in the countryside with a mission to prevent the rebels from regaining the people’s support in these poor communities.

The R-PSB personnel include those deployed in Bicol and Northern Samar where they are mingling with the ‘poorest of the poor’ to know their grievances and help provide them with means that will alleviate their poor condition such as the construction of small farm-to-market roads, schools and potable water and lighting systems with the help of different government agencies.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon