San Remigio Mayor Margarito Mission, Jr. on Monday was all praise for President Rodrigo Duterte who brought peace and growth to his hometown by addressing its needs through Executive Order 70 or the “whole of nation approach” against the scourge of communist terrorists.

In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Duterte said that under his administration the peace and security problem in the country was addressed “not in a purely military” way of dealing, but through the establishment of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC).

EO 70, signed by Duterte in December 2018, created NTF ELCAC that institutionalized a whole-of-nation approach aimed at attaining inclusive and sustainable peace as an effective solution against insurgency.

San Remigio, which used to be besieged with problems on local communist insurgency, was among the municipalities that benefited from the initiative.

“We know that where the road ends there is poverty and insurgency,” Mission said.

Before, he said there were several sightings and encounters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) with law enforcers, but now their municipality has become peaceful and the people receive assistance from the government.

“Our town is now peaceful with developments coming in,” Mission said.

He added that their town received assistance from different government agencies such as during a medical-dental mission that benefited 845 local residents on December 8, 2020.

“In a few more months, we will have a PHP20 million farm-to-market road (FMR) that will save the residents of Barangay Bulan-bulan from walking for three hours to reach their barangay,” he said.

Residents of the barangay have long been clamoring for an access road for an easy trip to the town proper to buy their needs and to bring their agricultural products such as rice and corn without expensive hauling costs.

“By August, we expect that there will already be bidding for the FMR that will change the lifestyle of the people in Barangay Bulan-bulan,” he said.

Mission emphasized that under the “whole-of-the-nation approach”, even former rebels (FRs) were welcomed to share its benefits.

Two of the 35 FRs from Antique who had surrendered to the government were from San Remigio and have received not only cash assistance but skills for livelihood training as they make their way back to normal and peaceful civilian life. (PNA)