Assessment of the Philippine Counterinsurgency Operational Methodology

<p>The roots of the Philippine communist insurgency problem are multidimensional encompassing political and socioeconomic dimensions. The Arroyo administration recognized this when it formulated the National Internal Security Plan (NISP) in 2001. The NISP developed the Strategy of Holistic Approach (SHA) with the following components: 1) legal diplomatic and political; 2) peace and order and security; 3) socioeconomic and psychosocial; and 4) information. The SHA involves the mobilization of the whole government bureaucracy from the national down to the regional and local levels to address the different aspects of the communist insurgency problem including its root causes. The NISP intends to implement the SHA in four phases called Clear-Hold-Consolidate-Develop (C-H-C-D). This study attempts to examine the government's success so far in implementing the C-H-C-D operational methodology. The government still shows interest in pursuing the series of peace negotiations the two parties have been conducting on and off for a long time. But although CPP negotiators sit with the government there is yet no indication until this time that the CPP has any genuine interest in settling differences with the government peacefully. Meanwhile military efforts to neutralize the insurgents fall short on their own targets. There is a greater need for the military to intensify intelligence and combat operations to effectively reduce insurgency strength and incapacitate its politico-military building capability. Rather than concentrate in clearing villages the military should focus on thwarting the insurgents' efforts to expand its mass base operations and establish guerrilla fronts. The military and civilian defense forces' shortcomings in military and civil-military operations are some of the main obstacles in effectively countering the expansion campaign of the insurgents.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>