Eighteen former rebels of the New People’s Army (NPA) here
received a total of PHP 1.17 million in “cash gifts” for their livelihood
endeavor, a military official said Friday.
Capt. Norman Tagros, spokesperson of the Army’s 8th Infantry
Battalion, said that each rebel returnee received PHP 65,000 during a simple
ceremony here last Tuesday.
Tagros said that the livelihood assistance was part of the
government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) extended to former
NPA rebels who surrender to the government.
He said that the 18 former NPA rebels who became CLIP
beneficiaries were members of the Indigenous Peoples or Lumads of the
Umayamnen, Higaonon, and Talaandig tribes of Bukidnon.
One of the beneficiaries, Jonathan Nacar, a former NPA
guerilla of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee, has expressed
gratitude for the government’s support.
Nacar received an additional PHP 52,000 under the military’s
“Guns for Peace” program as remuneration of the AK-47 rifle that he turned over
to the government.
During the turnover last Tuesday, Nacar said that he now
believed the government’s promises and efforts to help the communist rebels
live a normal life through its various programs.
“I really made the right decision when I decided to
surrender. Our families, together with the other former NPA rebels are happy as
well of the government’s assistance,” Nacar said.
Lt. Col. Lennon G. Babilonia, commanding officer of the
Army’s 8IB, said he was glad that finally, “our brothers were given their
livelihood assistance, just in time for the Christmas season this year.”
Tagros said that the CLIP is jointly implemented by
government stakeholders that include the Department of Local and Interior
Government (DILG), provincial government, the Philippine National Police, the
Philippine Army, and the Provincial Social Welfare Department.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=839520
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