17 ‘liberated’ Luzon villages to get P20 million worth of BDP projects each

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SEVENTEEN villages in Central and Northern Luzon “liberated” from the clutches and influence of the communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) will be the initial beneficiaries of multimillion-peso development projects from the government’s Barangay Development Program (BDP).

The military’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said the villages are located in Bulacan, Abra, Ilocos Sur, Kalinga and Mountain Province, which have earlier been freed of rebel presence.

Nolcom commander Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said each of the 17 barangays will receive P20 million worth of assistance, which would be given in the form of development projects as the villages recover from economic and development stagnation.

The development projects are in the form of farm-to-market roads, classrooms, electrification, communal irrigation, health centers, water systems and other community-benefiting projects.

The government’s assistance is separate from the programs and projects already programmed by other government agencies in the 17 barangays.

Burgos said that of the 17 recipient barangays, six are in Cagayan, six in Abra, two in Ilocos Sur, one in Kalinga, one in Mountain Province and a village in Bulacan.

The Nolcom earlier announced the dismantling of three guerilla fronts in its area of operations, and the 17 barangays are located within the areas where the three rebel fronts used to operate.

Burgos said the assistance should address the issues which the rebels used to exploit in their recruitment of members and in justifying their presence in the villages.

“The government is being true to its promise of addressing the issues exploited by the communist terrorist group by providing support to these communities for them to uplift their living conditions,” he said.

The Nolcom commander called on the recipient barangays to sustain their efforts and continue supporting the government’s peace initiatives in order to prevent the resurgence of the NPA in their areas.

Burgos also encouraged other barangays to “replicate the efforts of the 17 barangays to pave the way for development in their communities.”