Salvation Comes to Salvacion

by Alvin C. Tanicala, CIDSS Writer

Barangay Salvacion is picturesque- lush flora, fertile land, and a river teeming with life.  

As you breathe in the freshness of the air and appreciate the beauty of the surroundings, you would not notice that the place used to be a war zone.

Salvacion, part of the infamous Marag Valley, was once site to fierce gun battles at the height of insurgency in the 1980’s. During the insurgency, Marag Valley was considered a stronghold of the communist rebels.  

Many lives were lost because of the bloody fighting.  The armed forces poured many resources in trying to reclaim the area.  With as much fervor, the communist rebels defended it.  Daily the staccato burst of automatic gunfire is heard.  Fireballs from bombs were also common spectacles.  Even death seems so ordinary.  

These events deadened the community as they chose to ignore the war, but the war decided to suck them in.

Time of Fear and Terror

Gavino “Lumideng” Reymundo, was 15 years old when the clashes begun.  He remembers the old folks calling those times as the Reign of Fear and Terror (Tiempo ti But-buteng ken Riribuk).  Lumideng, a happy-go-lucky lad was forced early into experiencing the fear and terror, both as a spectator and as a partaker.

Armed groups started visiting the barangay in the early 1980’s.  The villagers thought that the armed men were government forces on routine patrol.  Nothing was out of the ordinary so the community took them in as guest- offering Isneg generosity.  Then another armed group came.  They asked if they saw individuals carrying weapons.  Thinking that the group was asking for the whereabouts of their colleagues they answered yes.

However, Lumideng observed something was amiss.  The previous group wore slippers and some were barefooted, while this group was suited-up.  Completely and appropriately attired with caps and boots.  The weapons carried by the earlier group were old and even antiquated, some even were unsophisticatedly homemade, compared to the M-16s and M-14s these men were carrying.  When it became clear that the village had been “coddling” and feeding communist rebels  (New People's Army) they felt fearful.  Fortunately, the villagers were only firmly warned not to do it again.

“They keep coming back.  They were like mushrooms, appearing from nowhere”, Lumideng continues, in the vernacular.

The military forces got wind of the brief stopovers of the rebels.  To monitor such movements and to report on rebel-civilian dealings spies were planted in the community.  Things started getting scarier when the NPA’s found out about the spies.

“One night, the NPA’s came.  An uncle and a cousin were killed because they were accused of being spies.  They said that it was as an example to the barangay…  ” recounted Lumideng.  

The bodies were recovered seven years later. 

Not to be outdone, the military forces also gave “examples”.  Gathering an entire sitio as witnesses, they would beat, almost to death, a suspected rebel or sympathizer.

Lumideng also experienced first-hand, the violence and terror.  While on his way to buy seed for the next planting he was taken and held at a military camp.  Accused of being a rebel spy he was brutalized- manhandled and tortured- by soldiers.  Fortunately, he was released nine hours later after he was proven innocent of the charges.

Armed encounters were so close to their villages and homes they can watch actual gunfights – complete with screams from the wounded and the dying; the smell of cordite from explosions and gunfire.

What followed was an exodus.  The entire populace was forced to evacuate.  They have to leave their homes in a hurry, carrying only what they could and leaving behind heavier heirlooms only to be looted.  

To ward off hunger, they opted to work as farm or house helpers in nearby municipalities and areas.  It was backbreaking labor and it was their way of life for more than a decade.

The Homecoming

Lumideng left Salvacion in 1982 as a teenager. He came back in 1994 as an adult.  Burned out remnants of homes welcomed them when they revisited their sitios- scars of a conflict they would rather forget.

The reign of fear and terror is over, according to the local police and military authorities, the last major armed encounter in the area happened 10 years ago.  No clashes have been reported to date.  Still, they are cautious, having experienced terror and fear first hand.  

The task of rebuilding their community is now at hand and together with sixty families, they hope to save their village from further desolation.

Now a father to four beautiful girls and a husband to an adoring wife, Lumideng is a visionary and an optimist.  He wants to have a better tomorrow for his four daughters.  When asked about his feelings about his horrid experiences, he just shrugs his shoulders.  He holds no grudges.

In the spirit of bayanihan, Lumideng does his share in rebuilding his community. Wanting to ensure a brighter future for his children and perhaps for his grandchildren.  He is grateful of the government’s effort in introducing development in his barangay.  He hopes that these programs like the Core Shelter Assistance Project will be a step towards a better life and a brighter future.

CSAP and CIDSS

The Core Shelter Assistance Project (CSAP) is a Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) implemented project aimed at addressing the emergency housing needs of the families and communities displaced by armed conflicts or disasters caused by nature or are man-made. 

Lumideng’s barangay is a beneficiary of a Ps. 1.5 million CSAP-CIDSS project.  He compares CSAP as food laid before him; all he has to do is partake of it.  He admonishes his barangay mates to take hold of the opportunity and not wait to be spoon-fed.  

His commitment to the bayanihan and CIDSS approach has emboldened him, as well as other sixty families in building sixty core shelters.  He recognizes that the rise of barangay Salvacion is the salvation of his family and community.  He believes in people who help themselves.  However, in helping themselves others should also play a role.

Convergence

Convergence in Salvacion is very well present.  The coming together of various government resources from various agencies is proof enough that, once again, bayanihan is alive. 

The provincial and municipal offices of Apayao are committed to the project.  They have given their respective commitments and counterparts.  The Department of Social Welfare and Development –CAR, for its part, sources out the Ps 1.5 million for the project, while the provincial government provided Ps. 300,000.00 for the road gravelling to ensure the access going to the barangay and for the transportation of the construction materials and aggregates. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) through the Philippine Army's 50th Infantry Battalion deployed elements of its engineering brigade to assist in the construction of the core shelters.

The Department of Health (DOH) through the municipal health office and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) through the municipal engineering office will be developing a potable water system and conduct trainings in sanitation management for the emerging  community.  

The Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) under the Third Elementary Education Program (TEEP) vowed to construct a two-room, multi-grade classroom for grades I-IV and to improve the Early Childhood Education (ECD) program with the rehabilitation of a daycare center to be funded by the municipal government. These structures will make sure that the children in the community will have access to basic education.

The municipal government also assured the provision of technical support through supervision and consultation during the construction phase of the CSAP.  

There are also plans of building a rural health unit and the establishment of a multi-purpose cooperative to be coordinated with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).  The community members will give labor counterparts.

The energy in the shared spirit of the community and the government is truly promising. 

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For More Information Contact:

CIDSS-CAR
40 North Drive, Baguio City
Tel: (063) 074-442-8619
FAX: (063) 074-442-7917
E-mail: [email protected]