The withdrawal by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte of the long running financial and logistical support of the city government from a military unit is viewed by many as pregnant with implications. At first blush, it must have shocked observers who did not expect such a bold move from the young lady mayor who is barely a month in office.
Fortunately, Sara left little to the dopesters’ imagination by being brutally frank about the reason for her action. She said she disagrees with the military plan presented to her, branding it too combat-heavy and would only lead to more killings of Filipinos in the hinterlands where the military is battling insurgents of the communist kind.
Still, friends and foes may ask: is Inday Sara anti-military and pro-insurgents? We don’t believe so. She could just be exasperated that the problem has not been solved for several years now. She could merely be sending a strong signal to the military establishment and the new Aquino administration that she wants them to try a different approach in solving the insurgency. As the new leader of this city and responsible for the well-being of some 1.5 million constituents, she has every right to do so.
As to the concerned military leader – Brig. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario who has been a close friend of the Dutertes from way back when he was still the commander of Task Force Davao about a decade ago, this is a window of opportunity to actualize what he and other gentlemen officers have been saying all along–that the insurgency can not be solved by military operations and that the real fight is one of winning the hearts and mind of the civilians, to deprive the insurgents of supporters. This is likewise an opportunity for the military establishments to convince the new administration of President Aquino to strongly adopt the new tack and put more budget to civilian-military operations and other non-combat activities of soldiers. This may even give impetus to an oft-repeated proposal from a cross-section to localize peace negotiations between the government and the communist rebels.
We believe that Sara’s withdrawal of support is not permanent. The support, which is rarely given by a local government unit to the military in other parts of the country, will be restored once the military is able to put money where its mouth is, so to speak. This means being able to put in place more programs designed to win the sympathy and support of civilians.
