‘Historic’ 24/7 barangay ELCAC command center, launched in Pateros

 

Photos by PIA-NCR

by: JUMALYNNE V. DOCTOLERO 

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The first in the metro, and perhaps the Philippines, Barangay Sta. Ana in the Municipality of Pateros on Thursday launched its 24/7 Public Safety Command Center that will address all issues of criminality, disaster, terrorism and insurgency in the area.

The center, made operational through the support of the Pateros Local Government, and the National Capital Region Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management (SAKM) Cluster, is being managed under the newly organized Barangay Sta. Ana Task Force  ELCAC, also the capital region’s first.

According to Barangay Sta. Ana Chairman Venancio Santidad, the command center, housed at their newly constructed 3-story barangay and multi-purpose hall, is equipped with the latest communication, surveillance and security equipment crucial to the barangay roll out of Executive Order No. 70, issued in December 2018 by then President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, to end local communist armed conflict and vital to attain inclusive development and sustainable peace in the country.

No less than Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III attended the ceremonial blessing of the establishment. Mayor Ike expressed his full support for the project and was delighted after hearing from national officials that their barangay-level TF ELCAC and command center were “firsts” in the country.

The chief executive was joined by Taguig-Pateros Representative Ricardo “Ading” Cruz Jr., Vice Mayor Carlo Santos, SAKM Cluster Head and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency-NCR Regional Director Dennis Godfrey Gammad, Department of the Interior and Local Government Pateros Director Jonas James Agot, Chief of Police Col. Aldrin Gran, and other barangay captains and officials in the launching ceremony.

“The launching of this Barangay Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict here in Barangay Sta. Ana is a historic first in the country, Barangay Captain Venancio Santidad was first to launch this and hopefully, other barangays will follow suit,” Gammad said.

“After our previous engagement, Chairman Santidad had requested for an orientation on communist infiltration of the bureaucracy, of schools, and the deceitful tactics being waged by the CPP-NPA (Communist Party-New Peoples Army) to recruit would-be victims to their ranks, and we provided them with the requested information and guidance,” he added.

Some residents, meanwhile, appreciated their local government for taking a swift action in setting up their Sta. Ana TF ELCAC and public safety command center.

“Ito po ay para sa kapakanan ng mga kabarangay namin dito po sa Barangay Sta. Ana, kung saan ay madali na nating ma-momonitor ang ating kapaligiran dahil sa proyektong ito na gawa ng ating kapitan at ng barangay council. Ang magbe-benefit po rito ay ang buong Barangay Sta. Ana. Pwede rin pong mag-benefit ang ibang barangay dito sa pakikipag-tulungan po sa aming barangay,” Barangay Council member Jun Tuazon said. 

(Translation: This is for the welfare of our villagers here in Barangay Sta. Ana, where it will be easier to monitor our environment thanks to this project initiated by our chairman and the barangay council. The whole area of Barangay Sta. Ana will benefit from this, as well as other barangays through cooperation.)

For Luz Abolencia, she said the project can now help local officials better respond to emergency cases, crimes, and communist recruitment, among others.

“Madali rin po kaming makalalapit sa aming barangay para maging maayos po ang aming Barangay Sta. Ana at malayo sa mga krimen, sakuna at kalamidad, o pag-recruit ng mga makakaliwang grupo.”

For her part, Rosemarie Muros said “the Public Safety Command Center ang pinakamagandang ginawa para makahingi kami agad ng tulong at matulungan po ang aming komunidad dito sa Barangay Sta. Ana. Lalong-lalo na po sa aming kapaligiran na maging safe po kami.”

(Translation: Our Public Safety Command Center is the best project done so far, so that we can immediately ask for help and help our community here in Barangay Sta. Ana, especially for our surroundings that we will be kept safe.)

Barangay Sta. Ana, the biggest barangay in Pateros, is equivalent to at least seven villages in the said municipality. Its population, as determined by the 2020 Census, was 29,680. This represented 45.50% of the total population of Pateros. 

Mayor Ponce earlier provided all the 10 barangays of Pateros with sufficient street lighting and closed circuit television cameras to beef-up security and help maintain peace and order. (PIA-NCR)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/2022/10/07/historic-247-barangay-elcac-command-center-launched-in-pateros