Government programme seeks to integrate former armed rebels into Philippine society

From Channel News Asian (Dec 21): Government programme seeks to integrate former armed rebels into Philippine society

The government’s Gun for Peace and Social Integration Programme gives them financial compensation for surrendering their firearms, and monetary assistance to help them integrate into mainstream society.
           

         

 

File picture: New People's Army (NPA) rebels of the Communist Party of the Philippines at an unspecified location in the hinterlands of Surigao del Sur province, in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. (AFP PHOTO/FILES/Mitchell Maduro)       

 

RIZAL, Philippines: The Philippine government is hoping a programme to integrate former armed rebels can help them move back to mainstream society.

From being part of an armed group fighting the Philippine government to being part of the Philippine military was not an easy decision, but it was a decision Ellen Carandang felt she had to make for the sake of her children. Mrs Carandang is one of a handful of former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who have laid down their guns and chosen to return to the fold of the government. 

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. For almost five decades, it has fought to overthrow the government using guerrilla-style warfare. It has been credited with the kidnappings of locals and foreigners, extortion and killings. Because of this, the group is listed on the Foreign Terrorist Organisation list of the US State Department.

Before being based with the Philippine military, Mrs Carandang worked in isolated mountainous areas recruiting girls into the movement. She said: "Life in the mountain is hard, like now there's a typhoon, there's no place to stay in the forest, you'll get wet, and sometimes you have nothing to eat. You have to endure everything, if you saw a coconut, it will be divided. You have to eat unripe bananas and drink water from anywhere.” 

She was also not allowed to see her five children when she was stationed in the mountains. They lived with their relatives instead. 

In 2012, Mrs Carandang was captured by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. She was imprisoned but during her captivity, the government gave her the chance to remain in jail, or to surrender and work with them.

She eventually agreed and now lives with her children in the Campinpin military camp, just a few hours outside of Manila and works as a food vendor there. 

But the family is still divided. Mrs Carandang's husband has chosen to stay with the NPA, rather than surrender.  

There are around 15,000 to 20,000 former members of the NPA now working with the Philippine Armed Forces. They are part of the government’s Gun for Peace and Social Integration Programme, which gives them financial compensation for surrendering their firearms, and monetary assistance to help them integrate into mainstream society.

After choosing to surrender and work with the government, many former rebels are brought to camps where they are assigned to a division. Out of the 4,500 soldiers in the second infantry jungle fighter division, around 20 of them are former rebels.

Some choose civilian roles while many choose to serve as soldiers. They undergo basic military training, which takes around six months.

 

According to Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, some are placed in intelligence units while others are placed in civil military operations.

He said: "One of the things that we want from them is to teach us in the ways of how the NPA fights, so they provide us with so many techniques that we can use to crack their former comrades."

“Jo” was one of the former rebels that chose to become a soldier. He came from a broken family and joined the NPA because he fell in love with one of its members. During his time with the NPA, he was taught how to fight, enter army camps and use guns.

 

But he said that life was hard and so he left. "I decided to leave them because life was really hard - we're always hiding and I couldn't sleep at night, especially during the day, because you're always thinking that you might get shot or killed."

Although “Jo” has a new life, he is still wary of being killed by his former comrades. But with a young family now and a job with the military that he plans to stay in till he has retired, he said the sacrifice is worth it. 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/government-programme/2364922.html