ComVal,or Compostela Valley Province,was created out of the northern portion of Davao del Norte Province.While still included in the Davao Region it directly abuts Agusan del Sur Province which is a part of Caraga Region (Region 13).Dominated by the Diwata Mountain Range the area is home to some of the world's richest gold fields.As I noted in my preceding NPA entry,"NPA Armed Contacts,Second Quarter of 2011,Part III,"the presence of gold has created a lot of difficult problems both in governance as well for the people living there.To a lesser extent illegal logging also presents a vexing problem,one that increases a great deal as you move north into Caraga.
Caraga,encompassing both of the Agusan and Surigao Provinces (del Sur and del Norte for each) as well as the newly certified island province of Dinagat,is the most heavily forested Region in the nation.Just as an over-abundance of natural resources creates a lot of misery in ComVal,likewise those forested mountains and valleys in Caraga bring with it a huge amount of misery.As I have noted in my last couple of Development Aggression entries,on February 2nd,2011 President Aquino issued Executive Order #23 (EO#23),which put the brakes on all logging of First and Second Growth Forests across the entire nation.Of course this admirable Executive Decision does absolutely nothing to put a dent in the astronomically huge business of illegal logging.
Towards that end Regional DENR (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources) Offices have begun undertaking aggressive action to try and lessen the damaging impact of what really does amount to a scourge on the nation.DENR-13,or as it is known locally,DENR-Caraga,enlisted the help of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) with the knowledge that a fair number of illegal logging outfits in Caraga are tied into well armed paramilitaries.Though these private armed groups are obstensibly pro-Government they are much more so pro-profit.If it is a choice between the flag and their bank book the former hasn't a chance,ergo the big guns of the AFP.
On June 7th,2011 DENR-Caraga rendevouzed with elements of the AFP's 26IB (Infantry Battalion) and the 3SFBn (3rd Special Forces Battalion,known as"Airborne"despite the lack of parachute accumen), 9 COY (9th Company) at CAA 2nd Platoon Garrison in the municipality of Laak's Barangay Melale,in ComVal. (CAA being Civilian Active Auxiliary,collectively a group of entities that serve as geographically localised Reserve Forces,in this case the element being CAFGU,the Civilian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit.CAA is the cornerstone of the AFP Counterinsurgency Programme).After a Briefing the troops rolled out,heading into Caraga,just over the border in the municipality of Loreto,in Agusan del Sur Province.The Airborne contingent boarded an M35 truck and left a bit after their compatriots from the 26IB.
As the truck crossed into Barangay Belmonte it entered the jungle.As the sun began to appear on the horizon a fussilade rang out from the trees around them hitting 5 soldiers almost immediately.Within minutes the shooting stopped and the NPA's Front 34,Davao-Agusan Command,withdrew further into the jungle.Aside from 3 soldiers critically wounded,2 had been killed:
1) PFC.(Private First Class) Werlito de Claro,22,of Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat Province,shot in the chest
2) PFC.Jefferson Galang,from Baguio City on Luzon,shot in the head.
Though off to a tragic start the DENR Operation lasted until June 10th and was violent in and of itself but I will relegate that to another Development Aggression entry.
In my last NPA Armed Contacts AND Development Aggression entries I focused on the municipality of Pantukan,also in ComVal.It has been a rough couple of months for that small town.On Good Friday,April 23rd they were hit with a devastating landslide that killed scores of small scale miners.There have also been several Extra-Judicial Killings related to mining that I haven't even begun to discuss and then of course,the NPA which like a leech attaches itself to any money making venture within its AOR (Area of Resoinsibility,in this case synonymous with Area of Operation).As should be expected then the town is racking up more Contacts than any other municipality on the island.On June 19th,in Pantukan's Barangay Napnapan,in Sitio Paisusuan,a column from the 71IB under 1Lt.(First Lieutenant) Abelardo Silva was on patrol when they walked into an NPA ambush by roughly 70 guerillas from Front 2,the Crucifino Uballas Command.Silva and 7 of his men were hit,with 1 soldier,Guyre P.Puyao of Benguet Province on Luzon dying.
That same day,June 19th,in ComVal's capitol of Nabunturan,PDT (Peace and Development) Teams 4 and 6 from the 25IB were working in Barangay Bayabas' Sitio Handuromug when they were ambushed.After a 45 minute firefight the NPA brokeoff and withdrew.Miraculously no casualties came out of it.PDTs are a new innovation,first implemented by the AFP in September of 2010.After what the AFP considers to be a smashing success in Savao Region they have entered operations in 3 of Mindanao's ensconced IDs (Infantry Divisions).They are simply stock CMOs,or Civil-Military Operations.In teams of 9 soldiers each they enter targetted villages,or barangays,and after an initial intelligence gathering euphamistically dressed up as a"Census to assess the needs of under-served villagers"the team(s) fan out and paint a school,etc.There is nothing wrong with having soldiers serve communities,all able militaries engage in CMOs,but the AFP hasn't changed its mindset.The same deep-seated problems that have allowed insurgency to fester on Mindanao for a full half a century persist and worsen regardless if the one roomed school house has a dazzling new coat of army-olive acrylic paint.
Also on June 19th,in the neighbouring town of Mabini,also in Comval,a sawmill owned by local attorney Henry Sembrano was burned to the ground by the NPA in Barangay Cuambog.Mr.Sembrano refused to pay his Revolutionary Taxes...I mean his extortion...I mean Revolutionary Taxes.
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