Several days ago the President had ordered an all out war against rebels, insurgents and other anti government movements. All out war means everything goes. There has been an impression that our armed forces had been marking time until the order was given, the army has been reactive instead of proactive. This time it is expected that soldiers aside from stepping up their civic action such as medial missions, will be conducting aggressive patrols in rebel infested areas. Hopefully civilians will not be involved

There had been questions as to whether the mailed fist policy will succeed. The problem is not only ideological but also sociological and economic. Burgeoning population, limited resources, unequal distribution of wealth and a system prone to graft and corruption has also to be addressed together with the drive against insurgency. Without those, the war will not succeed.

It is surprising why Bohol does have an insurgency problem. We have been peaceful ever since. Since the communist movement had been driven out of Central Luzon it had spread to the Bicol, Eastern and Central Visayas down to the Mindanao regions. It is not surprising; there are places, which would be good breeding grounds of insurgency. Pampanga seems to be the birthplace of communism in the Philippines .

It spread to the nearby provinces of Nueva Ecija. Conditions were ripe at that time for the communist movement. The bulk of the lands were owned by hacienderos. Tenant farmers tilled the lands. Sharecroppers without fiscal discipline fell victims to usurious landowners. The farmers fell deeply into debt until they can no longer extricate themselves. Family debt was handed down to succeeding generations.

But not all farmers accept their miserable lot. Some of the better minds seek redress from government authorities but alas the government is run by vested interests most of them big land owners. Seeing the relief could not be obtained there the farmer took to the hills, sympathizers remained furnishing the base of support. Communism spread though out Central Luzon . Ramon Magsaysay broke the back of communist insurgency first as Secretary of National Defense then later as president.

In face of an agrarian reform program, infrastructure plus liberal credit facilities furnished by rural banks and technical aid from government experts aided by a stepped up military campaign the hope for a workers paradise promised by communists died. Finding Central Luzon no longer tenable for them, organizers spread to places where people would be more receptive. There is Panay and Negros with big sugar cane plantations tilled by sacadas. Then there is Mindanao where lands are owned or claimed by those who have not even seen the place.

Here in Bohol , there are no large landholdings, no haciendas of note. It there may be, then they are few and far between. Then there would be few sharecroppers. They are not tied to the land like Central Luzon farmers; they can go somewhere else if things become too hard for them. There were no usurious lenders; five – six people are just recent operators. In short, insurgency would have a hard time to gain a foothold here. But the irony of it is they are here.