Army, LGUs send off CSP teams to depressed villages in Capiz, Iloilo

ILOILO CITY, June 29 (PIA) – The teams for the Community Support Program (CSP) were already deployed, June 22, to the villages Capiz and Iloilo provinces.

The CSP Teams, composed of soldiers from the Army’s 12 Infantry Battalion were deployed to the depressed barangays in Tapaz , Capiz, as well as in Calinog, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Maasin in the province of Iloilo, a press release from the 3rd Infantry Division’s Public Affairs Office said.

The Army’s 12th Infantry Battalion and the local government units (LGUs) of Capiz and Iloilo joined the send-off ceremony of the CSP Teams which was held at West Visayas State University, Calinog, Iloilo.

Representatives of the Office of the Governors of both provinces, and the mayors and barangay captains of the identified municipalities and villages, respectively, attended the send-off the ceremony.

The ceremony was highlighted by the simultaneous signing of Certificate of Acceptance of the Barangay Captains.

Following the signing of Certificate of Acceptance are messages of peace which were delivered by 301st Deputy Brigade Commander Colonel Orlando Edralin, Calinog mayor Francisco Calvo, Tapaz mayor Roberto Palomar, and Iloilo Provincial Government representative Ms. Mary Rose Matucan.

In his message, Edralin underscored the importance of CSP in protecting the people from the true virus of the community—the Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs), who, for 51 years have sown terror to the community.

He also emphasized the value of CSP as a tool to end the cruelty of the communist-terrorists, and how its partnership with the local government could help achieve peace and development that everyone is longing for.

“This activity is the beginning of new hope for the people of Capiz and Iloilo because of the stronger alliance and camaraderie between the Philippine Army and the local government units in providing services to them,” Edralin said.

He added “It is the hallmark of unity towards achieving peace and in ending the local communist armed conflict in Panay which for decades has caused unwarranted misery to the Ilonggos in the Island.”

Present also during the ceremony were representatives of the respective Municipal Social Welfare Development (MSWD) Office, Municipal Local Government Operations Office (MLGOO), Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO), Municipal Agrarian Reform Office (MARO), and Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) of the said municipalities,  Capiz Police Provincial Office (PPO), Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC), and other contingents from Capiz. (JBG-PIA6/3ID-DPAO)