VP Sara looks forward to terrorist-free Philippines: ‘NPA’s war is ending’

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday expressed hope that the entire Philippines will be freed from insurgency soon, just like what happened in the Davao region.

During the first anniversary celebration of Davao City being insurgency-free, Duterte, who was recently designated as the co-vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said the war of the New People's Army (NPA) is coming to an end and its movement is already dying.

“The NPA’s so-called protracted war is ending. The guerrilla warfare tactic is no longer working for them to be able to breathe life into a dying movement. The stench of its doom and imminent demise is repulsive, but something that we anticipate with most profound excitement,” she said.

“I hope that one day soon, we wake up to the news that the entire Philippines is already NPA terrorist-free. Let us make this happen,” she added.

Stressing that “terrorism is a dangerous enemy,” the Vice President recalled the time when the district of Paquibato in Davao City was still under the influence of the NPA—-where many children were out of school and not getting enough nutrition, and there was a scarcity of government services and basic infrastructure.

She said insurgency in the area became possible through the civilian-led program Peace 911 by the local government of Davao, which offered residents the opportunity to become productive, have livelihoods, discover new skills, and capacitate women.

Duterte, however, admitted that the peace in the region is “fragile” and must be sustained.

“The peace that we have is fragile, and I realized that sustaining the peace is more difficult than attaining or gaining peace,” she said.

“This is a success that must be sustained. And this can only be done if we do not abandon our strength as a community or our shared dreams as a nation.”

Duterte, who also serves as the concurrent Education secretary, further reiterated that education is a “powerful tool” for peacebuilding and combating terrorism, and could therefore lift people from poverty and injustice. — Giselle Ombay/RSJ, GMA Integrated News