Army integrates Cordillera rebels

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 8): Army integrates Cordillera rebels

Lt. General Noel Coballes, army chief, welcomed 168 members of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army during the recent integration rites held at  here at the headquarters of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division.

“Your entry to the military is beyond having a job, it is a commitment for your honorable service to the Filipino nation,” he said while acknowledging the surrender of 138 firearms. “Lasting peace and progress for all Filipinos will not be achieved by armed struggle and hatchet.”

The integers came from the so-called “Economic Force” now Cordillera Forum for Peace and Development Inc. before deciding to join the Candidate Soldier Course Class 346-13 and undergo jungle warfare and mountain operation training.

President Benigno Aquino III on July 19, 2011 signed Executive Order 49 to implement the Closure Agreement on the rebel group’s disarmament and transformation to a socio-economic development arm.

The integration is buttressed by the 2002 memorandum of agreement under Administrative Order 18 on employment and livelihood support to rebel returnees as part of the peace process.

 http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/08/army-integrates-cordillera-rebels/