This article examines the interaction of local army units and town/village leaders in several communist frontline communities in Southern Iloilo, in the light of changes in the national government’s policy response after 1986. Civil-military engagement in the frontline is asymmetrical and premised on different understandings of the nature and assessment of the communist threat. For soldiers, the communists are embedded in the community, and pose a serious threat. Local leaders downplay the rebel threat and view the communists as outsiders, but express a nuanced view of the different roles locals play in the communist movement and factional affiliation of rebels in their area. Except for paramilitary formation, the military devises all counterinsurgency programs while civilian leaders and the police are confined to implementation. The Municipal Peace and Order Councils do not serve as institutional means for local civilian leaders to oversee military operations, but rather as venues for local commands to obtain logistical support. Civil-military interface on human rights concerns has become less confrontational and oriented towards soldiers carrying firearms in public, abuse of local generosity particularly in quartering and food provision, and complaints procedure for minor infractions.
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