Secretary
Teresita Quintos-Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process is set to meet with Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. to
discuss details on the signing of the closure agreement between the national
government and Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas (RPM-P) and its
armed group.
Deles
made the announcement over a radio interview here after the governor aired his
complaint regarding the delayed signing of the final agreement. She has not yet
finalized the schedule of her visit here.
RPM-P’s
armed wing, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade
(RPA-ABB), based mainly in Negros Occidental, signed a peace agreement with the
national government in 2000, in rites held at Don Salvador Benedicto town
witnessed by former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
In
April this year, the RPA-ABB changed its name to Kapatiran para sa Progresong
Panlipunan (Brotherhood for Social Progress) as part of their compliance with
the provisions of the peace agreement.
Deles
said President Benigno Aquino III is making sure that all the provisions of the
closure agreement can be met and will no longer be a problem for the succeeding
administration.
The
OPAPP chief said due diligence was carried out on the settlement sites of the
RPA-ABB rebels, and tenure arrangements for them are also being studied by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
She
added that President Aquino is making certain that assistance will be in place
for the former rebels during their reintegration to the society.
According
to the OPAPP, the peace agreement seeks to transform the RPA-ABB into a
civilian, socio-economic organization, and to mainstream its members into their
communities by providing them with livelihood and employment, and move them
towards disarmament and the dismantling of their military structure.
Its
records show that 716 members of the RPA-ABB under the Tabara-Paduano Group
have been profiled, including 607 in Negros Occidental, 58 in Negros Oriental,
and those in Panay and some areas in Luzon and Mindanao .
The group has more than 400 firearms and 300 explosives.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=563078
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