Army 113th Anniversary Logo

The Army celebrates its 113th Anniversary with the theme: "Philippine Army at Sambayanan: Magkabalikat sa Pagtataguyod ng Patuloy na Kapayapaan at Kaunlaran"

Former NPA Rebels Receive Initial Cash Assistance

Former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Sarangani Province, who were reintegrated into the mainstream society, received an initial amount of P20,000 as immediate cash assistance from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) under its Social Integration Program (SIP) today, March 26, 2010 at Sarangani Provincial Capitol. Governor Miguel Rene A. Dominguez personally handed over the cash assistance to the returnees who are now called Kauban sa Reporma (KR). Aside from the initial cash assistance, the release of socio-economic package worth P50,000 each and rewards for their surrendered firearms worth ranging from P10,000 to P60,000 each are being facilitated by OPAPP. As a complete package, each KR could receive a total of P100,000 worth of assistance.

A total of eleven (11) rebel returnees in Sarangani received the SIP. The Social Integration Program (SIP) is a government enhanced program launched to increase the economic and livelihood benefits of NPA rebels who would return to the folds of the law.

The KR’s underwent a 5-day values formation and reorientation seminar designed by OPAPP as part of a process to reintegrate them into the mainstream society and start a new life. The awarding of economic package has restored hope to the former rebels whose life was ruined by Communists teachings.

Dante Tiwado alias Garry, 19 years old, the youngest among the rebel returnees, voluntarily surrendered to 73^rd Infantry Battalion on Aug 04, 2009 bringing along with him an armalite (M16) rifle with two magazines and one rifle grenade. According to him, the rifle was trusted to him by NPA leader Comdr Brigol. He turned himself in for he can no longer bear the difficulties of constantly running away and playing hide and seek with authorities.

“The government is sincere in its offer of economic assistance to rebels who voluntary surrender with their firearms. We are calling upon the colleagues of Garry to follow and take this opportunity to enjoy the life of a free man”, said 73IB Commander LTC Edgardo Y De Leon.

Renovated Municipal Health Clinic Turned -over to MLGU, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat

73rd Infantry Battalion, Philip[pine Army, in Partnership with US Army Civil Affairs Team 712, formally turned over the newly renovated Palimbang Municipal Health Clinic to Mayor Samroud Abdul Mamansual on March 24, 2010. Also present during the event were the Municipal Health Workers headed by Dr Ramil Cruz, MHO of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat.

Peace Covenant signing with COMELEC and local Candidates in Palimbang

Aspiring local candidates of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat pledged their commitment to an Honest, Orderly, and Peaceful Elections (HOPE) during a peace covenant last March 24, 2010 at the Palimbang Municipal Gymnasium. Witnessed by the outgoing Mayor Samroud, the signing of a peace covenant helps ensure that the local elections in Palimbang will be orderly and credible.

Neutralizers conducted Career Orientation Seminar to more or less 250 graduating students of Kiamba National High School in Kiamba, Sarangani Province today, 23 March 2010.

JSCC Sarangani Launches Bantay Eleksyon 2010 Volunteers

The Sarangani Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) composed of Sarangani COMELEC, Sarangani PNP, and 73rd Infantry Battalion, formally launched on March 13, 2010 the citizens volunteers for honest, orderly, peaceful, immediate, and accurate election with Kiamba as its pilot area. Other towns of Sarangani will follow. The social mobilization program aims to call upon the different sectors to be partners of COMELEC, PNP, and AFP in monitoring election problems and violations. The volunteers shall provide information from the communities and also be the partners in educating the electorate. They will be given orientation by the COMELEC.

Love for Environment

One thousand seedlings were planted along the 7km stretch highway of Kiamba, Sarangani Province last feb 13, 2010 by volunteers student, barangay folks, policemen, and soldiers. The NEUTRALIZERs, in coordination with the Municipal Government of Kiamba, the Notre Dame of Kiamba, Kiamba Central High School, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Kiamba, Kiamba Municipal Police Station, and the DENR, led a multi-sectoral tree-planting activity dubbed as "Isang Libong Puno sa Araw ng mga Puso". The event's theme: "Kalikasa'y mahalin, bagong henerasyon may mamanahin" was meant to dedicate the trees to the youth.

Valentines "Boodlefight"

The NEUTRALIZERS spent their Valentines Day with the kids of Brgy Pananag, Maasim, Sarangani Province on Feb 14, 2010. Co-sponsored by Mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr., around 300 muslim kids joined the "boodlefight" with 73IB troopers, the Army's self-styled "kanduli". The kids were happy to have experienced the military's "boodlefight", the traditional way of expressing unity and solidarity.

4 NPA Extortionists Wounded in Clash with 73IB

Four (4) New People’s Army (NPA) bandits under alias Ron-Ron of the Alex Ababa Gang which has been threatening the people living in the hinterlands of Alabel and Malapatan, both of Sarangani Province and parts of Davao del Sur, were seriously wounded after two series of gun battles with Army troopers of 73rd Infantry Battalion (73IB) at Bgy Little Baguio, Malita, Davao del Sur last Feb 20 and 22. Nobody was hurt among the troopers.

During the first engagement, the wounded gangsters escaped towards forested area but were engaged again after troops utilized bloodhound K-9 dogs to track them down through the blood stains seen along the trails. Troops of 73IB and 39IB under the operational supervision of 1002nd Bde continue to track them down as of this report.
Responding to information provided by political candidates that they have received extortion demands from communist bandits in the form of permit-to-campaign (PTC) and permit-to-win (PTW) fees, troops of 73IB visited far-flung barangays in an effort to verify the reports. A local candidate who yielded to their demand reportedly provided combat boots and foodstuffs to the bandits in return for the candidate’s being allowed to campaign in the hinterlands. The encounter transpired right after the rebels received the items. The local terrorists extort money or material from political aspirants in the form of PTC and PTW fees. With PTC, NPA bandits allow candidates to roam around what they claim to be their controlled territories. With PTW, on the other hand, bandits assure political candidates of votes from upland people. These bandits intimidate the voters and dictate upon them to vote only those who paid permit-to-win fee.

In a statement, 73IB Commander LTCol Edgardo De Leon said, “We will not allow the NPA gangsters to disturb the free exercise of suffrage in our area of responsibility. We will continue to protect the democratic rights of the people to choose their leader and vote freely. We also would like to encourage candidates not to be afraid in reporting extortion demands coming from the bandits. The money or material support they would give them would just contribute to the continuing existence of communist terrorism in our country”.

Our Home

The 73rd Infantry (NEUTRALIZER) Battalion finally found its home at Sitio Tampuan, Brgy Kamanga, Maasim, Sarangani Province. It is located at a hilltop overlooking the beautiful Sarangani Bay.

Impact of ECOZONE on the Security of MaKiMa

Speech of LtCol Edgardo Yao De Leon

Battalion Commander, 73rd Infantry Battalion

during the

Congressional Public Hearing on Special Economic Zone 

Kiamba, Sarangani Province, September 3, 2009

The Distinguished members of the House Committee on Economic Affairs, good morning.  It has been a year since our battalion was redeployed to Sarangani Province from Davao del Norte in response to the atrocities committed by lawless MILF Group (LMG) that intruded the province late last year. The series of military operations effectively diminished the LMGs capability to launch further atrocity and drove them out of the province after army units successfully seized their encampments and strongholds in Maasim, Kiamba, and Maitum. The last major engagement was the 2-day skirmishes on September 12 and 13 last year wherein their main camp called Camp Khalid bin Walid was seized by our troops. Mopping up operations continue resulting to minor engagements with their remnants in the hinterlands. In those operations, we have seized firearms, discovered and dugged out their pre-positioned logistics, and captured their leaders.  For now, our efforts are focused on the promotion of a culture of peace among the tri-people of Sarangani in partnership with the local government units and NGOs. 9-man teams immerse the conflict-affected brgys, mingle with the people, exerting efforts to win the people’s hearts and minds and trying our best to determine what motivated the local people to support, if not join, the rebels.   Our troops went house to house to get the sentiments of the people in conflict-affected bgys, particularly in the Municipality of Maasim, where we discovered their main camp. The following were the significant findings, as motivating factors for rebellion, among others:

• The present sources of income of rural folks are not enough to earn a decent living. 
• Out-of-school youths have joined the rebels. Financial difficulty as the main reason for parents to stop sending their children to school, especially after elementary education. 
• Non-muslim lumads sympathize with the rebels. Most of them eat less than 3 meals a day. During conflicts, they swarm evacuation centers to join the prey for relief goods, even if they are far from the conflict-affected areas. They opt to stay long even after the conflicts not because of fear, but because of the available relief goods.  

With this situation, the local government makes the necessary intervention. We have been bringing to the MLGU and the PLGU these concerns and they have been very supportive. However, the problem persists, not because the local government units are not cognizant, but because of budgetary and resource limitations. Similarly situated with the households, the income of the local government units are not enough to deliver services that will somehow satisfy the needs of their constituents. Hence, hard for them to address the plight of the people, the condition that is exploited by rebel groups to gain adherents from among the local people.  This reality proves the point that security and economic development are inseparable. Yes, for the past 12 months, our deployment in the province helped bring back to normalcy the peace and order situation. The question we have to answer however is, how to sustain the relative peace that we are in now, if the motivating factors for rebellion remain. The local government has to take aggressive move to address the roots of rebellion. But with limited resources brought about by low revenues, the local government units are having difficulty addressing them. If Sarangani Ecozone will push through, as I understand it based on my initial readings of the project, economic activity will increase, eventually raising the income of the constituents, as well as providing more revenues to the local government units.   If Sarangani Ecozone will push through, the people of Sarangani, particularly MaKiMa, will be preoccupied with doing business and participating in whatever opportunity to earn a living, instead of being dependent on government, and take up arms against the supposed providers whenever dissatisfaction arises.  If Sarangani Ecozone will push through, the provincial and municipal governments units would not solely be reliant from the limited IRA provided by the national government. With projected locally-generated revenues, the LGUs would be empowered to deliver quality social services and would be able to fully perform their functions that were devolved from the national government.  Hence, we in the security sector are optimistic that if Sarangani Ecozone will push through, the people will be economically empowered and LGUs would better off to provide good governance, both which are essential elements for SUSTAINABLE PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE PROVINCE.  So therefore, the 73^rd Infantry Battalion, as the AFP representative in the province, joins the people of Sarangani in appealing from the Honorable Members of this Committee for support to the creation of the Sarangani Economic Zone.  Thank you and Good Day.

Note: The public hearing was presided by Congressman Ramon “Red” Durano VI, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Affairs, House of Representatives. Other congressmen present were Hon. Marc Douglas Cagas IV of Davao del Sur, Hon Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite, Hon Antonio Lagdameo of Davao del Norte, and Hon Ronald Singson of Ilocos Sur. Among the speakers during the public hearing were Gov Miguel Rene Dominguez of Sarangani Province and representatives from the different sectors of the province. The members of the House Committee were convinced and pledged to support the enactment of the law establishing the Special Economic Zone in Sarangani.