CATBALOGAN CITY — Local Youth Development Officers (LYDOs) and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from Eastern Visayas participated in a two-part orientation for Executive Order 70 (EO 70) through a hybrid setup.
The first batch included youth leaders and SK officials from the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, and Southern Leyte, as well as the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc, and took place on February 16, 2024.
The orientation aimed to educate SK officials about the background of EO 70, their role, and its implementation in their communities. EO 70 is a government approach to ending local communist insurgencies.
To further support this approach, former rebels shared their experiences during the Online Talakayan session.
One former rebel from Basey, Samar, shared his journey from being recruited as a student leader to cooperating with the government under EO 70. He now serves as the executive director of Uswag Sinirangan Bisayas (USB) and a NYC Moderator, providing livelihood programs to People’s Organizations formed by the government.
Another former high-ranking rebel shared her 16-year experience as a communist organizer and key points on convincing youth to join communist groups.
Engr. Lusanto M. Francisco Jr., Assistant Regional Director for Production of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency 8 (NICA), discussed the salient points of EO 70 and conducted an orientation for youth and students on terrorist recruitment.
DILG Region 8 Regional Director Arnel M. Agabe emphasized the importance of Sangguniang Kabataan in the sustainable approach to ending local conflict, highlighting the potential partnership with the National Youth Commission (NYC) as agents of change against local communist terrorist groups.
NICA 8 Regional Director Eustacio Bacabac sought the youth leaders’ support in ending the long-standing armed struggle in the country, considering the youth as the hope of the nation. He reminded them to protect the youth from dangerous belief systems that could harm their future.
The second batch of SK officials and LYDOs from Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar will attend the orientation for EO 70 on March 1, 2024, also via a hybrid setup.
