A total of 21 barangays in the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte were cleared from insurgency.

“Another step forward towards the attainment of lasting peace in Davao City was achieved with the clearing of 21 insurgency-affected barangays in the districts of Toril, Calinan, Baguio, Marilog and Tugbok,” said Brig. Gen. Ernesto Torres Jr., commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade in a statement on Thursday.

“The Area Clearing Validation Board (ACVB) composed of officers from 1003rd Infantry Brigade, 10th Infantry Division, Davao City Police Office and barangay captains from the concerned 21 barangays convened yesterday to validate the recommendation of the Evaluation Board for the clearing of said barangays,” he added.

Despite the clearing of 21 barangays, Torres said 62 more barangays in the city are still affected by insurgency.

He said there were a total of 182 barangays in Davao City and based on their reports and evaluation 83 were affected by insurgency last year.

“As of today, we have already deployed Community Support Program Teams (CSP) in all affected barangay of Davao City,” he said.

“Twenty one of which were validated as cleared as of 13 June, while the rest are at various stages of clearing,” he added.

Torres said that were “declared as cleared, peaceful and conflict-resilient communities are nine brgys from Toril, namely: Alambre, Bangkas Heights, Bato, Bayabas, Eden, Marapangi, Mulig, Sirawan and Tagurano; two brgys in Calinan: Riverside and Sirib; three brgys in Baguio: Carmen, Tawan-tawan and Baguio proper; three brgys in Marilog: Bantol, Buda and Marilog proper; and four brgys in Tugbok: Angalan, Manambulan, New Carmen and Tagakpan.”

“The ACVB unanimously declared and signed through a resolution that the 21 barangays mentioned have met all the parameters for the clearing of insurgency-affected barangays,” he said.

Torres said the parameters includes “the dismantling of the CPP-NPA politico-military structure; the denial of the CPP-NPA access to the area, resources, and manpower, including mass base support; and the establishment of a functioning barangay information net and integrated community public safety system.”

“The successful clearing was finally reached as a result of the eight-month long Community Support Team deployment of the military, in close collaboration with the police, brgy officials and the Davao City government in addressing the issues that gave rise to insurgency,” he said.

“With the clearing of the brgys, it is expected that the barangay council becomes active in catering to the needs of the brgy; the residents support and participate in govt programs and activities; and there is an active networking and linkaging among the LGUs, LGAs, NGOs and POs for the efficient delivery of basic goods and services for the local populace,” he added.

Torres said the residence of Duterte at Do?a Luisa Subdivision in Matina, Davao City is not affected by the insurgency. Robina Asido/DMS