South Cotabato pushes release of livelihood aid for ex-NPA rebels

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): South Cotabato pushes release of livelihood aid for ex-NPA rebels

The Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) of South Cotabato province is pushing for the release of livelihood support from the national government for 18 former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the province.

Lt. Col. Zhalimar Imperial, commander of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion, said Friday the former rebels have already undergone the required profiling process and are now only waiting for the delivery of the livelihood assistance that they availed under the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP).

He said they are currently working for the completion of the implementing rules for the program’s implementation in the area to facilitate the release of the assistance.

“We’ve requested the concerned agencies to hasten the crafting of the implementing rules,” he said during the PPOC meeting in Koronadal City.

Under the CLIP, which is mainly implemented by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), former NPA rebels may avail of various assistance programs from the national and local governments.

Imperial said that aside from the 18 former NPA rebels, several others have already signified to avail of the program’s livelihood assistance.

The provincial government of South Cotabato, through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, earlier conducted the profiling of the former rebels.

“One reason that forced them (former rebels) to join the rebel movement was the lack of livelihood opportunities in their areas. We have to seriously address this problem to encourage other active rebels to return to the fold of the law,” he said.

The official said that if such problem is not properly addressed, some of the former rebels might be forced to rejoin their comrades and remain as security threats in the area.

Meantime, Imperial said they are closely watching the movements of around 40 rebels under the NPA Far South Mindanao Region’s Front 73.

He said the group remains a serious security threat in the province and noted that the volatile issue on mining was among the reasons for its resurgence in the past several months.

Imperial was referring to the planned large-scale copper and gold mining project of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines Inc. in Tampakan, South Cotabato that continues to be under threat from the NPA.

He cited that based on their monitoring, the group has recently added new recruits came from the towns of Lake Sebu, T’boli and Surallah in South Cotabato; Maitum, Kiamba and Maasim in Sarangani; and, parts of Davao Del Sur.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=527646