Recto : Troops in NCR slums must dig in, not retreat

No, not yet.

Sen. Ralph Recto said Army troops sent to Metro Manila barangays should not retreat yet and to literally dig in.

But Rectos proposal is not for the soldiers to dig foxholes but to dig up canals and esteros so these can be ready in time for the rainy season.

This flood control civic action can be done by engineering units stationed in and around Metro Manila, he said.

The military, he said, has the second most number of construction equipment next to the DPWH, assets which we should occasionally tap for civilian use, given our lack of resources in this area.

And instead of engaging in calisthenics for physical conditioning, Army recruits can do their exercise in the many esteros there, Recto added.

Noting that the clean up of the network of waterways in the capital region is done in summer, he said Metro barangays do need all the help they can get in preparing for the coming rainy months.

Many communities around the country take advantage of the good summer weather to repair canals, dredge streams and strengthen embankments so these can catch water runoff and prevent flooding during the wet season from June to November.

It will be good for the image of the military to send reinforcements to these activities which people in the barangays do in old-bayanihan fashion, he said.

If soldiers claim that they are doing civic action in Metro slums to build goodwill among residents and stop them from supporting Communist groups, then they should remember that Maos Red Army dug up canals in China, a gesture that won them the peoples trust, he said.

Earlier, when news broke out that soldiers were on the prowl in NCR slums, Recto reacted by saying that the military should instead send in doctors and nurses because the enemy there is disease, not dissidents.