COMMANDOS from the elite Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who are used to combat operations to neutralize Enemies of the State are now playing another major role to help the police regain public trust and confidence, literally from Aparri to Jolo.

The move of PNP-SAF director, Major General Edgar Alan O. Okubo to launch their own ‘Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay’ program in the countryside has gotten the nod of PNP chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. who has shown deep appreciation for what the elite unit has been doing since last August.

It all started when Okubo was designated by Gen. Azurin as PNP-SAF commander last August 8. A veteran SAF trooper, the 53-year-old Okubo brought to the elite PNP unit the R-PSB program which he used to supervise when he was still the Deputy Regional Director for Operations and later Deputy Regional Director for Administration of the Police Regional Office 11 in Southern Mindanao.

The highly-successful program was conceptualized by former PRO11 director, now Area Police Command-Eastern Mindanao head, Lieutenant Gen. Filmore B. Escobal to help bring real government presence in so-called Geographically-Isolated and Disadvantageous Areas or GIDAS in Southern Mindanao.

Under Maj. Gen. Okubo, the PNP-SAF has gone on a really very important mission to help the ‘poorest of the poor’ in the most remote parts of the country while guarding against the possibility they may encounter lawless elements including the New People’s Army which is known for taking advantage of the sad condition of village folks to recruit more members.

The PNP-SAF’s R-PSB program has already attracted the attention of the public as well as local government units and national government agencies and different stakeholders who have been pouring support to the drive.

Last November, the PNP-SAF went on a really ‘risky mission’ to win back the ‘hearts and minds’ of residents of a Camarines Norte village known for having a strong NPA influence, the Journal Group learned.

According to Maj. Gen. Okubo, commandos from the 91st Special Action Company of the SAF’s 9th Special Action Battalion have entered Barangay Dumagmang in Labo, Camarines Norte to bring their “R-PSB’ program in the area.

“We are engaging the community with the R-PSB program to defeat the enemy,” said the PNP-SAF commander in referring to Bgy. Labo, a mining community, known for being heavily influenced by the NPA movement.

Early this month, members of the 9th SAC held a lengthy meeting with representatives of different LGUs, government agencies and the local Army and police to discuss their findings in Bgy. Labo.

They include the call of Bgy. Dumagmang residents to help them get titles for their land; the lack of potable water and roads and bridges and modest toilets for each families.

The SAF commandos also found out that among the 615 residents of Bgy. Dugmang they interviewed, only 37 are employed, 220 are self-employed while 357 are all jobless.

Problems on early pregnancy in the village were also noted with many residents with ages between 15-17 already with their own family. Lack of education was also prevalent in the area with only six found to have a college degree; 233 have no Live Birth Certificates; 331 respondents are yet to get a COVID-19 vaccine; 17 senior citizens who have no Senior Citizen’s ID are not yet receiving any government pension; 94 families don’t have private toilets; and presence of crime/harassment/violent incidents in the barangay is prevalent.

In particular, the PNP-SAF noted a most common complaint in the area which is violence against women and their children.

The SAF commandos also found out that Bgy. Dumagmang residents are really interested in vegetable, fish, sweet corn, swine and chicken/broiler production.

Known to be heavily-influenced by the NPA, Bgy. Dumagmang residents in the past have demanded the pullout of officers from the Camarines Norte Police Provincial Mobile Force Company assigned in the area.

There was also initial apprehension that the villagers may also resent and reject the presence of the SAF commandos in their area. However, after a month of deployment, the SAF troopers have been already accepted by majority of the villagers who have appreciated their so-called ‘Sweet and Friendly or SAF approach.’

Members of the 91st SAC since then have been regularly ferrying elementary students to their public schools using their heavy-duty truck that can negotiate thru deep mud.

The commandos also provided manpower and labor to the ongoing construction of the barangay road while their combat medics treated children, women and senior citizens of their illness.

The 91st SAC have been getting ample support from LGUs and national government agencies in the area amid their call for help in letting Bgy. Dumagmang feel the love and support of the government to them.

The SAF effort in Bgy. Dumangmang is being replicated in different GIDAS in the

countryside where the elite troopers have helped poor residents build their own schools, potable water, and irrigation system, roads, and other facilities that would help uplift their lives.

The R-PSB program has also enabled tens of thousands of indigenous people in Southern Mindanao to have their birth registration papers which are needed each time they apply for government support, including free schooling for their children.

Bgy. Labo is the scene of an NPA attack on March 20, 2021, which killed five members of the Camarines Norte Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) and wounded two others.

Officials said that the Camarines Norte PMFC detachment in the area was attacked by a group of heavily-armed NPA rebels on that fateful day after local residents said they didn’t want the presence of government forces in their barangay.

Intelligence reports said that the barangay remains under NPA influence to date prompting the PNP-SAF to embark on a six-month challenge to recover the barangay for the government.

In March 2021, members of the 2nd PMFC of the Camarines Norte PPO were attacked by NPA guerrillas in Purok 6 in Bgy. Dumagmang – triggered a fierce gunbattle that left five officers dead and two others wounded.

The fighting was so intense that it lasted for some three hours, officials said. When the gun smoke cleared, five policemen identified as Corporal Roger Estoy and Patrolman Joey Cuarteros, Benny Ric Bacurin, Jeremy Alcantara, and Alex Antioquia were reported dead. Wounded were Cpl. Eric Hermoso and Pat. Aldrin Aguito.

It turned out that the policemen led by Lieutenant Louie James Amoy were on a preventive patrol in the area when they were fired upon by the leftist gunmen. Following the firefight, reinforcement from the PRO5 Regional Mobile Force Battalion, the Camarines Norte PPO, the PNP Special Action Force, and the Philippine Army’s 902nd Infantry Battalion were sent to the site to conduct the hot pursuit operation.

Three Air Force and two PNP helicopters were also deployed to the scene to retrieve the bodies of the slain policemen and to take the wounded to the hospital.

Known for their motto ‘by skill and virtue, we triumph,” the PNP-SAF was originally founded on May 12, 1983 by General Fidel F. Ramos the man who would become the 12th Philippine president.

It was created to plan and conduct special operations as a rapid deployment force anywhere in the country especially in the areas of counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, crowd control and search-and-rescue and disturbance management in times of national disaster or emergencies.