MILITARY DETACHMENTS ARE sprouting like mushrooms in North Central Mindanao even amid the pandemic. Instead of putting up barangay health clinics, six detachments were constructed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in various parts of the region in the past five months. This includes detachments in Barangay Du­ri­an, Las Nieves, Agu­san del Nor­te; Ba­lag­nan, Espe­ranza, Agu­san del Sur; Sit­io Ki­pu­nay, Eu­re­ka, Gi­ngo­og City, Mi­sa­mis Ori­en­tal; Sitio Pa­ngag­pu­ngan, Ka­la­bu­an, Espe­ranza, Agu­san del Sur; and Sitio Ma­ha­yag, Nam­nam, San Fer­nan­do, Bu­kid­non. Communities in the said areas are not geared to face the Covid-19 pandemic as residents only rely on medical services provided by volunteers who come to their communities.

In a statement released last July 28, the Revolutionary Organization of Lumads (ROL) in the region hit the continuing militarization of Lumad communities. They said that they expect nothing new from Duterte’s “new normal” as terror, hunger and hardship continue unabated under his regime and the AFP’s reign. Sixteen battalions are currently deployed in the area with 189 detachments, 163 of which are CAFGU detachments comprised of peasants forcibly recruited by the AFP.