THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be allocating P5 million for the construction of more “processing centers” in the provinces for the rebels surrendering to the government wanting to go back to their normal lives, DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said.
Año said the funds for the construction of the “halfway houses” in various local government units (LGUs) will be sourced from the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the DILG.
He said halfway houses will serve as a venue in rehabilitation and healing sessions and education and skills training activities for the rebel returnees.
"These former rebels are risking everything by surrendering and we want to make sure that government is there every step of the way in their journey towards healing and reintegration in the society. Halfway houses are where their new life begins," said Año.
"A halfway house will serve as a re-introduction of former rebels to society. In here, we will try to equip them through skills training. Kaya napakahalaga na ang ating magiging partner LGU ay mayroong ganoong mga uri ng training (That is why it is ver important that our partnered LGU has that kind of training.)" he added.
Año said based on the Memorandum Circular 2018-105 the criteria for the selection and prioritization of LGUs for the said program includes the number of enrolled former rebels, no existing halfway house or with halfway houses but not funded by the former CLIP and existing E-CLIP, halfway houses that needs renovation or expansion, availability of donated lot/site to build the structure and functional skills training programs, among others.
He added the funds can only be accessed after complying with the procedural requirements which include a complete assessment of the provincial or highly-urbanized city government, signing of a memorandum agreement and submission of a project proposal and supporting documents.
Año said nine provinces were already granted P5 million each as implementing partners for the construction of the said houses in Kalinga, Mountain Province, Masbate, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and North Cotabato.
He said financial assistance amounting to at least P60 million were also allocated by the DILG to hundreds of former communist rebels in the past three years.
Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said over 2,000 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels has surrendered to the government since January.
Of which, 607 were regular NPA fighters while the rest were with the Militia ng Bayan, underground mass organizations (UGMOs) and their supporters.
Año said the aggressive efforts for the construction of the halfway houses is in preparation for the planned localized peacetalks.
“We are hopeful of the success of the localized peace talks in light of the announcement of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that they would rather oust the President than talk peace. We will never give up on peace, so we are preparing for the return of communist rebels in any way we can,” he said.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1754065/Manila/DILG-to-fund-construction-of-more-processing-centers-for-NPA-returnees?seeMore=1
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