MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur--Aiming to break up the Dawlah Islamiyah group in their area of jurisdiction, the 51st Infantry Battalion advocated for literacy among residents, especially in the municipality of Piagapo in the province of Lanao del Sur, through the implementation of the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
Battalion commanding officer LtCol. Fernando Payapaya shared that this initiative is connected to their Enhanced Education Program that was established in their desire to install sufficient knowledge among residents of target communities with focus on eradicating their most commonly encountered challenge in communicating with locals, the language barrier.
“Actually, nabuo ito dahil sa pagkaconduct namin ng community information drive sa [municipality of] Madalum. Malapit na ako matapos nang naisipan ko magtanong kung sino nakakaintindi sa sinasabi ko. Walang nagtaas ng kamay. Medyo nadismaya ako doon. Pagconduct ng Alternative Learning System, siguro magkaintindihan na kami. Sa ngayon, magaling na sila mag-Tagalog at ang iba ay sa Ingles. Ayon sa observation ng soldier teachers namin, mas magaling sila sa Mathematics,” he said.
[Actually, this was formed because of us, conducting a community information drive in [the municipality of] Madalum. When I was about to finish, I thought of asking who understood what I just said. No one raised a hand. I was a little bit dismayed. I thought that with the conduct of the Alternative Learning System, maybe we would already understand each other. Now, they are already good in Tagalog while others are in English. According to an observation of our soldier teachers, they are better in Mathematics.]
Payapaya further detailed that such a program is a product of him recalling the same implementation when he was still deployed in Davao area and is even more timely as they have sufficient personnel who have a degree in Education.
He cited that it is good they are supported by other line agencies and private organizations which also push for effort complementing theirs, such as the recent community outreach program in Brgy. Gacap Thursday, March 17, led by the battalion in partnership with the provincial government, 103rd Infantry “Haribon” Brigade, Inner Wheel Club-Lanao del Norte, Kiwanis International, Ronald McDonalds House Charities, Inc., Jollibee-Iligan City, and Fiat Macarambon.
With the continuous realization of the ALS, Payapaya conveyed that it indeed significantly contributed to one of their goals which is to hold back the citizens who tend to lean on the unlawful idealism of the terrorist group.
“Malaking tulong iyan dahil unang-una, mostly sa nagsurrender sa amin ay walang grado. Madaling mahikayat doon sa recruitment strategy ng DI-MG. Sa ginagawa natin, nahihikayat natin ang mga kabataan na aside from education, hindi sila magpadala sa recruitment strategy at malaman nila kung anong klase ng recruitment ang ginagamit ng DI-MG dito sa area,” he said.
[This is a big help because firstly, most of those who surrendered to us were uneducated. They can easily be persuaded by the recruitment strategy of the DI-MG. With our effort, we are convincing the youth that apart from education, they should not be swayed by the recruitment strategy, and so that they will know the kind of recruitment the DI-MG uses here in the area.]
The battalion commanding officer noted that currently, the ALS in Piagapo town has at least 310 students which are from the municipality itself with 160 pupils while the other 150 are from the Liangan village in Madalum town who opted to avail the educational program upon knowing its implementation in the place of establishment. (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Sur)
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