Over 2,000 Samar residents displaced by armed conflict return home

CALBIGA, Samar, April 10 (PNA) - The more than 2,000 residents here who fled their homes for fear of getting caught in the crossfire between the military and New People's Army (NPA) rebels finally returned home Sunday afternoon.

Calbiga Mayor Luzviminda Nacario convened the members of the municipal peace and order council on Sunday morning to tackle the exodus of residents living in 14 upland villages, who have been anxious about their safety.

“We are concerned on the safety of children and pregnant women that is why we want this problem to be solved immediately,” Nacario said. “The council is hoping that this incident will never happen again.”

The evacuation started on April 4 in Barangays Canbagtic and Balao, followed the next day by residents from 12 other villages. They sought shelter at the town's covered court.

The conflict between government troops and communist rebels displaced 837 families or 2,182 individuals, including 933 children, 35 pregnant women, 112 senior citizens and six persons with disabilities.

Some of the residents participated in the rally organized by the militant group People’s Surge in Catbalogan City last April 4.

People’s Surge secretary general Marissa Cabaljao, who represented displaced villagers, demanded the stop of military operations in Calbiga’s upland villages.

“The presence of military had put the lives of residents in danger and made them vulnerable to atrocities,” Cabaljao claimed.

Lt. Col. Arnel Floresca, Army’s 87th Infantry Battalion commander, defended the presence of the military, saying that they are just fulfilling their mandate as soldiers to conduct a "community service program" (CSP).

The CSP is an information gathering of the military to learn about the problem and needs of the residents in rebel-infested villages

“The non-combat operation aims to bridge them to local government units and national government agencies (so they can be given assistance),” Floresca said.

Floresca added that the presence of the military in some upland village in Calbiga town is supported by a resolution approved by village officials.

“The Army's mandate is to protect the lives of the people and secure their property," Floresca told residents.

Calbiga is known as one of the hotbeds of communist insurgency in Samar Island. Several encounters between the army and NPA have been reported in this town in the past year.

The most recent was the clash in Hubasan village on April 4, where a soldier was wounded.

Calbiga town is about 63 kilometers north of Tacloban City, the regional capital. It is a fourth class town in Samar province with a population of 22,982 people. (PNA)
ROEL T. AMAZONA