Fund scrutiny

There is a special reason for the peaceful co-existence among the people of Davao City. The residents and indigenous tribes – from the city proper to far-flung barangays – have been getting a good night’s sleep. They are comforted by the knowledge that the local government and law enforcers shield them against terrorism while finding ways to lift them out of poverty. Peace and progress are not mutually exclusive after all. A sterling example is the community members of Paquibato district (a former communist rebel bastion) who transformed into productive, law-abiding citizens through programs on livelihood and capacity-building for women.

Last May, Davao celebrated the first anniversary of its freedom declaration from insurgency. In a speech, Vice President and former city mayor Sara Duterte said the Dabawenyos have destroyed the shackles of the New People’s Army (NPA), whose deranged ideology of overthrowing a democratically-elected government has perpetuated a cycle of decades-long atrocities on poor families and lumad communities. She said the Paquibato transformation has unmasked the communist terrorist group (CTG) as leeching on the people’s misery to advance their violent causes. Duterte also thanked the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for helping end the insurgency problem. In October 2022, President Bongbong Marcos hailed the eradication of insurgent groups in the Davao region. He urged the stakeholders to sustain the whole-of-nation approach to peace by preventing terrorist and lawless elements from regaining power.

The city’s resounding victory against the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was brought about by the civilian-led, anti-terrorism program ‘Peace 911.’ Inday Sara implemented the successful localized peace initiative during her term as Davao City mayor. It was also a direct result of her rational utilization of confidential funds that ended terrorism and extremism in the city.

Consider the following figures. In 2019, 111 former CTG members reintegrated into mainstream society. The Social Welfare Department provided P1.17-million livelihood and education assistance to 77 of them. Meantime, the Interior Department’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) gave P86,000 each to 33 other former rebels.

The following year, ECLIP provided livelihood assistance to 14 rebel returnees. The program also allocated P5 million to Bahay Kalinaw, a halfway house for former rebels. Opened in 2021, it is a rehabilitation, healing, education and skills training facility.

Meanwhile, Peace 911 launched the ‘Peace Economy’ in 2019 to address the insurgency problem in Paquibato district. The system created a value chain of products and services through cacao farming that has improved the quality of life of the Paquibato farmers. A community member, Jose Saguban, became the first Filipino winner of the Top 20 Best Cacao Beans Award under the prestigious International Cocoa Awards (ICA) of the Cocoa of Excellence Program in Paris, France.

Owing to the high quality of beans produced in the Davao region, cacao has become our export product to the United States, Japan and Europe. As the acknowledged Chocolate Capital of the Philippines under Republic Act 11547, Davao City alone produces 35 percent of the national production. In 2020 alone, it produced 2,508 metric tons of cacao. Two years later, Peace 911 also implemented ‘Project Bahayahay,’ which trains the women of Paquibato to provide for their families.

To strengthen its anti-terrorism campaign, the local government launched the ‘Culture of Security.’ It encourages Dabawenyos to volunteer, report, remind and participate in the peacebuilding efforts.

Furthermore, the annual crime rate significantly dropped between 2016 and August 2021. There were only 251 crime incidents reported in 2021, a steep decline from the 2,340 reported cases five years prior. In regard to the illegal drugs campaign, 1,425 individuals enrolled in the community-based outpatient and aftercare facility for recovering drug personalities from 2019 to June 2021. Another 549 individuals underwent holistic care and treatment under the Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation for Drug Dependents in the same period.

As city mayor, these are some of the accomplishments of Inday Sara vis-à-vis improving Davao’s peace and order situation and protecting the lives and livelihoods of her constituents. Her judicious and timely utilization of intelligence funds has minimized terrorist threats and criminal acts against Davao City residents. As the co-vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), she wants to replicate Davao’s success story nationwide.

However, the political Opposition and the Left seem to have joined forces with a few sinister members of the UniTeam alliance in stymying Sara’s anti-terrorism and peacebuilding initiatives. In my view, they are ganging up on the Vice President to destroy her 32-million-strong political base and in aid of the 2028 presidential election.

A group of lawmakers who are known sympathizers of communist rebels have been making a mountain out of a molehill over Sara’s confidential funds as Davao City mayor. Did the Commission on Audit find anything illegal in the disbursement of the intelligence funds? No. Have these politicians produced evidence that Sara illegally pocketed or stole public funds? No. Thus, I nod in agreement with her statement the other day. Politicians who vehemently oppose the use of confidential funds to neutralize the terrorist acts of communist, extremist and radical groups are enemies of the Republic.

Meanwhile, the House committee on appropriations has disapproved the confidential funds requested by Duterte for the OVP and the Education Department. As a former congressman, I know that these developments would not have happened without the go-signal of the House leadership. I am surprised that Speaker Martin Romualdez (or the Majority Bloc) did not defend the request of VP Sara for additional funding, considering their affiliation with the UniTeam alliance.

Before taking over the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Inday Sara had formulated a plan to set up satellite offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Duterte is dedicated to provide services on peacebuilding, livelihood, child education, women and LGBTQIA+ empowerment and nutrition to disadvantaged and marginalized Filipinos. The OVP has disbursed some P861.6 million in medical and burial assistance to 94,519 beneficiaries as of July 2023.

Given her years of local executive experience, VP Sara is accustomed to expeditiously implementing projects on the ground and delivering social services to intended beneficiaries. I am glad that she has repeatedly assured the public that she will take full accountability for her confidential funds and is committed to observing accounting and budgeting rules and regulations. Inday has nothing to hide.