Special Cafgu to guard banana plantations

A SPECIAL Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) is to be put up in the peripheries of the banana plantations in Mindanao to help with the peace and order situation in the plantations, a banana expert said.

In an attempt to control the attacks of lawless armed groups which includes burning of vans and container vehicles, Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) executive director Stephen Antig said the special Cafgu formation to be recruited and deployed in the peripheries of banana plantations had already been approved although there has yet to be the signing of the memorandum of agreement.

“Major General Noel Clemence has assigned a point person for the formation of a special Cafgu. After the meeting of the security committee, they will discuss the guidelines…The Cafgu will be deployed at the periphery of the plantations. Not really inside the plantations. You will still need your blue guards. They will be deployed in checkpoints. Once they are deployed there, the military men who used to be in the checkpoints will now be free to rove the mountains and the countryside,” Antig said in a press conference last Tuesday, October 17, at the Apo View Hotel.

In the event that these members of the unit would need to construct their barracks, Antig said they welcome it as long as these are to be located at the periphery and not exactly inside the plantations as some non-government organizations (NGOs) might interpret this as militarization.

“If you have these auxiliary guarding at the checkpoints, it is possible that they can guard against these burning of vans and container vehicles that usually happen along the highways. Hopefully, these incidences would be lessened,” he said.

Antig said they are still waiting for final advice from the military for the specific date of deployment as the members of the unit will still be recruited.

Peace and order as a threat in the industry

In earlier interviews with Antig, he had expressed how the peace and order situation in Mindanao paralyzes the expansion of multi-national companies in the island. He mentioned the postponement of Del Monte Philippines’ plan to expand its banana and pineapple plantations because of the current situation in Mindanao.

“It will put a lot of expansion on hold because the investors have fears of investing and then be attacked. We will have a problem with the recovery of your investment. It’s not that easy because most of the investments are loaned from the banks,” he said.

According to Antig, the damage of the recent burning of some equipment by the allegedly New People’s Army (NPA) in Bukidnon a few months ago cost P15 million.

The Lapanday Foods Corporation (LFC) had also ceased its packaging operations after it was burned down by the communist rebel groups April of this year. Antig said small packing houses cost around P8 million while the big ones are around P88 million.

“If these kinds of attacks happen and it’s proven that it’s a terrorist attack, it will not be covered by insurance. The insurance will not pay,” Antig said.

Citing the reports of the military to them, he said revolutionary taxes shelled out by companies including mining and construction companies amount to P1.4 billion per annum.

According to Antig, multinational companies had been known to not give out revolutionary taxes to these lawless groups as was their mandate even in other countries that they are in. JPA