DAVAO CITY — Officials of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, Inc. (PBGEA) and the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command met over the weekend to firm up the establishment of special civilian armed units to help secure the banana industry’s assets and operations against continued rebel attacks.

The meeting was prompted by the March 18 incident in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur where a pilot was killed after suspected members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) shot at his aerial spraying aircraft.

Based on the military report, Capt. Lynbert G. Laguda, Sr. died at a hospital after he maneuvered his aircraft into a crash, ensuring that no surrounding community would be hit.

Ralph P. dela Cruz, PBGEA security committee chair, told BusinessWorld that the death of Mr. Laguda has created a “huge impact on the operations of companies” in the remote areas as other pilots no longer want “to do the job because of fear that they, too, might suffer the same fate.”

Mr. Dela Cruz said while the number of NPA attacks have decreased so far this year compared to previous years, the rebels appear to have shifted their strategies, such as the airplane incident.

“Unless we are able to find ways, with the help of the government and the host communities, then the attacks are a huge problem to the operations of the farms,” he said at the sidelines of the meeting.

As previously agreed, the military will help the banana companies form a new security unit — a dedicated Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) that will help in protecting the farms and the surrounding communities from the NPA threats.

The military will screen, train and provide firearms to the CAFGU members while the companies will provide logistical support, including salaries.

Some corporate growers, however, have expressed reluctance over the hiring of paramilitary units due to negative experiences in other countries such as in Colombia.

PBGEA Executive Director Stephen A. Antig said the issue is “something that we need to sort out because time is of the essence.”

Last week, the association came out with a one-page advertisement in local newspapers calling on President Rodrigo R. Duterte to help them, citing the case of Mr. Laguda.

The industry group said they are making the “appeal to the only Philippine President who has rightly pronounced the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA as a terrorist organization and has the guts to publicly declare a no-holds barred war against terrorism for more definitive and decisive action in obtaining justice for all those affected and for the protection of a vital industry for Mindanao and the Philippines.” — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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