Alvarez vows to give housing, livelihood to surrendering Reds

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday vowed to deliver on the requests of some 50 “bagani” or warriors headed by high-ranking New People’s Army (NPA) leader Datu Gibang, who recently surrendered to him in his home province of Davao del Norte.

“In fact, I already committed to deliver sa kanilang yun ho (to them),” the Speaker told DZME radio in an interview, referring to the surrenderers.

“Unang-una yung housing para sa mga Lumad sa area, tapos yun pong hanap-buhay, mabigyan sila ng sapat na hanap-buhay. Tapos itong paaralan para sa kanilang kabataan na Lumad (First of all, the housing for the Lumads in the area, then ample livelihood. Then a school for the Lumads’ children),” enumerated Alvarez, a close friend of President Duterte’s.

In short, Alvarez said the surrenderers only sought “basic services that were easy to address.”

The surrender of the NPA leader and the bagani, which was first reported by the Manila Bulletin, took place in Sto. Niño, Talaingod, Davao del Norte. They reportedly took as a cue the sincerity of the Duterte administration in offering a peaceful resolution to the bloody, decades-long insurgency in Mindanao.

The Lumads, who are evidently very important to Datu Gibang, refer to non Muslim indigenous people in the southern Philippines. Alvarez said the Datu Gibang belongs to the Manobo tribe, which he himself identifies with.

The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Since November 2017, the government’s peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the party’s negotiating arm, has been stalled.

Alvarez said he would use the 2019 national budget as a tool to fulfill the requests of the surrendering Reds.

“May sarili po silang ancestral domain. May lupa na sila, yun bahay lang talaga. Ang sisikapin ko ito ay ma-isama natin sa 2019 budget at mapagawan nga sila ng mga bahay. Tapos magco-coordinate din tayo sa ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno kung ano magandang hanap-buhay ang ma ibigay sa kanila (They have ancestral domain. They already have land, they just need housing. I will try to have budget for their housing incorporated in the 2019 budget. Then I will coordinate with other government agencies to determine the best livelihood for them).”

The House of Representatives possesses the power of the purse, or basically the power to determine how the government’s money is spent. The Committee on Appropriations, which oversees the crafting of the budget, is chaired by another Mindanaoan in Davao City 1st district Rep. Karlo Nograles.

The proposed 2019 national budget is expected to be tackled by the Lower Chamber come August.

Asked if more Communist fighters will make peace with the government in the coming days, Alvarez said, “sisikapin po natin (we will endeavor to do so).”

“Pag nakita na po nung iba na talagang sinsero ang ating pamahalaan ay palagay ko naman ay magkakaroon ng domino effect ito (I think this will have a domino effect once the others see that the government is really sincere),” he noted.