The massive devastation brought by the 7.2 magnitude eartquake in Bohol and super typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas regions tested the mettle of local governance in the country. One such local government unit that has bounced back quickly is the Province of Bohol under the leadership of governor Edgar Chatto. The devastations left by these calamities that hit Bohol undoubtedly proved Chatto's cool and grace under pressure to lead the Boholanos to rise from the ashes and rubbles of destruction. In a recent regional forum on anti-terrorism dubbed “Advocacy Campaign and Trainers' Training on Target Hardening” for Region 7, governor Chatto was chosen to keynote the event based on Bohol's Countrywide Development Program Purok Power Movement (CDP-PPM).

The regional forum aims to come up with an operational ‘whole-of-nation' systems approach against terrorism. The organizers considered “Governor Chatto the best keynote resource” because of his strong political will and good governance as he tightly held the reins of government and maintained peace and security in Bohol during those twin tragedies, despite massive propaganda and mass desolation. “Very vital in our networking role is information,” Chatto informed participants at the forum. We expand whatever we're doing at the Regional Peace and Order Ccouncil (RPOC) on aspects of collaborative undertakings from the regional down to the barangay level with the existence of Peace and Order Councils, nationwide, Chatto added.

The Bohol governor is also the chairman of the RPOC-7 and the RDC-7. Chatto then shared Bohol's brainchild which can be adopted nationwide—the Countrywide Development Program Purok Power Movement widely known nationwide as CDP-PPM. According to the governor this program has largely helped the provincial government in identifying the people's needs in a holistic, integrated, collaborative and comprehensive approach. He said the CDP-PPM is anchored on human basic needs and various sectoral concerns in community development. It is designed to empower people, making them aware that there is much more they could do for themselves than what the government could do for them, Chatto added. “If only people could learn to fend for themselves rather than wait for government dole outs,” he smiled.

Chatto pointed out strongly that poverty is recognized as a very important and critical factor in fighting insurgency so people must learn basic skills to rise above any community situation or problem. Chatto then said that poverty must be addressed properly down at the grass roots, rather than attempting to circumvent the problem by putting up artificial and short-term solutions to it. “Where once, Bohol was viewed as a province of naïve and resilient people (qualities perceived by many as implicating negativity), such same naivete and resilience have proven to be the Boholanos' best assets when tragedies struck and tested the people's faith in themselves and in their God,” Chatto stated. The governor admitted that disaster and risk reduction councils “can help train and prepare our people for calamities but the only time we can say that we're truly prepared is when it actually happens; just like what happened during the earthquake and Yolanda.” He said that Bohol's CDP-PPM inculcates in the people its Prosperity Framework incorporating therein both peace and development.

The framework makes the people understand that true peace and security could only be achieved if people are self-reliant and independent enough to get what they want for themselves and their families, and are capable of realizing their own dreams, the governor said. Active collaboration among local chief executives, the AFP, PNP, government agencies, private sectors and all stakeholders could help a lot in preventing the resurgence of the CPP/NPA/NDF and terrorism in the region, Chatto emphasized this concern. Chatto believes that there is no doubt, criminalities would fairly decrease for it is the people themselves who are undertaking the task of watching each other's backs. “This makes it considerably hard for bad elements, and also calamities, whether natural or man-made, to destroy the spirit of Bayanihan and camaraderie that apparently, all these years, have kept the people going and moving forward to greater and sustainable development,” Chatto concluded his speech. (Minerva BC Newman)