Mayor Elizabeth Mandin has appealed to Governor Arthur Yap to push the implementation of livelihood projects including the establishment of farm-to-market roads in the municipality in a bid to address insurgency in the far-flung town.  

Mandin, during Yap’s recent visit to the town, highlighted the need for a farm-to-market road to cut transportation expenses for farmers in remote areas of the town and boost their livelihood.  

The local chief executive admitted that her town is among areas in Bohol in which New People’s Army (NPA) movement has been reported.

“Hilanglan g’yud nato tabangan tungod kay usa na sa maka sulbad sa insurgency dinhi sa atong lungsod sa Catigbian, labina na ang lungsod part g’yud siya sa insurgency area,” Mandin told the Chronicle on Tuesday.

Far-flung and underserved villages need of livelihood projects and aid from the government to prevent them from thinking that they have been neglected, she said.

“Daghan atong mga kaigsuonan na basi’g makafeel sila na gikalimtan na sila sa atong gobyerno…ipa-feel nato na wa sila pasagdi,” the mayor added.

Yap, in turn, has pledged to lend the province’s heavy equipment next year for the town’s road and infrastructure projects.

The provincial government through loans of up to P678 million is set to acquire heavy equipment as part of Yap’s hospital modernization and infrastructure program.

Although Bohol remains “insurgency-free” according to authorities including the Philippine Army, there have been reported movements of the NPA in various areas in the province particularly in remote villages.

Several minor clashes between state forces and the communist guerillas have erupted in the province in the past two years. (A. Doydora)