KIDAPAWAN CITY (May 10/Thursday) – To capture people’s support and sympathy, especially in areas influenced by communist guerillas, soldiers must avoid “girls, alcohol, and gambling,” a military official in North Cotabato said.
Capt. Ernesto Aguilar, commander of the Bravo Company of the 57th Infantry Battalion, said soldiers of “good moral character” will surely “win people’s hearts.”
Aguilar has issued a stern warning to his men: “Avoid abuses in the community.”
“This is real peace building… that we, as the real soldiers of the people, must demonstrate upright attitude. Thus, we must avoid alcohol, girls, and gambling,” said Aguilar.
Those who are caught violating his strict policy would be sanctioned, he said.
Aguilar said they only allow women and girls to stay in the detachment if they are relatives of the soldiers.
“Prostituted women or those who are not the legal wives of the soldiers cannot stay in the barracks for even a night.
I am very strict with this policy,” he stressed.
If caught, a soldier loses his 15-day vacation leave after three months of continuous duty at the outpost or detachment.
Also, Aguilar said that for them to win the war in the hinterlands, they must show respect and deeper understanding of the culture of the people.
He admitted, though, that some of his men have problems with attitude, especially when dealing with residents in the hinterlands.
Just recently, one of his men accused five members of the Manuvu tribe in Barangay Kinarum, a hinterland village in Magpet town, as supporters of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA), which he said offended the sensitivity of the natives.
In fact, the tribal council in Barangay Kinarum has called for a dialogue with the soldiers in the village.
Such unfortunate incident, he said, was a result of their failure to appreciate the culture and the language of the people.
So as not to repeat the same “false move,” he encouraged his men to study the dialect of the residents.
“I am a pure Tagalog. But when I was assigned in Magpet town where residents speak Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Manuvu, I tried to study their dialects. It’s so important to learn the language of the people for you to win them,” said Aguilar.
Barangay Kinarum in Magpet is one of the villages in North Cotabato considered as “highly influenced” by the communist guerillas. (Malu Cadeliña Manar / MindaNews)
