DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Feb. 20 (PIA) -- The Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) is set to conduct this year’s “Dagyawan sa Barangay: Talakayan sa Mamamayan" and Serbisyo Caravan in seven barangays identified as conflict-affected areas in the province.

This is part of the task force’s continuous efforts to bring government services closer to the residents to attain inclusive and sustainable peace.

Hundreds of residents in Brgy. Pula, Canlaon City are expected to participate in the first of a series of Dagyawan Serbisyo Caravan activities on March 14, followed by Brgy. Mantiquil and Apoloy in Siaton on March 17, and Barangays Nagbalaye, Milagrosa, Nagbinlod, and Talalak in the municipality of Sta. Catalina on March 21, 24, 28, and 31, respectively.

This dialogue between government and the people in the barangays as well as the provision of basic government services are part of the whole-of-nation approach to end insurgency in the province.

This is also to integrate government programs and efforts by actively engaging the involvement of the sectors and communities in the farthest or remote barangays.

Frontline national and provincial government agencies will extend basic services during the Serbisyo Caravan through a one-stop shop in the barangay.

These services include medical and dental consultations, livestock, seedlings, farm materials, school supplies, slippers distribution, live birth/cenomar registration, vaccination or immunization, provision of food packs, among others.

The seven barangays have been added to the list of Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) Barangays of the task force as part of the government’s convergence mechanism for the identification of issues in villages affected by insurgency.

Currently, the province has a total of 46 barangays identified under the ELCAC program. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)