Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Ex-rebels get lot titles, drug surrenderers freed on plea bargain deal in Compostela Valley

From tge Business Mirror (Jul 10, 2019): Ex-rebels get lot titles, drug surrenderers freed on plea bargain deal in Compostela Valley

The Compostela Valley provincial government handed out land titles and gave cash assistance to former New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas to consolidate the local government’s effort in integrating them back to the communities.

Under its program Operation Plan Pagbabago, Tulong Serbisyo, the province also announced that some 60 drug offenders would soon be released from different jails in the province after entering into a plea bargain deal with provincial officials.

On July 4 and 5, the provincial government distributed 149 land titles to former NPAs who are residents of Barangay Araibo in Pantukan town. They were also granted P300,000 in cash assistance.

The Department of Agrarian Reform also distributed titles, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development sepatately gave P300,000 to the members of Araibo Bugasan Pamana SLP (Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan-Sustainable Livelihood Program) Association.


The province and the government agencies also provided dental and clinical services, welfare services and government office services, and distributed school supplies to children.

Pantukan Municipal Mayor Roberto Yugo, along with Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy, gave both the land titles and cash assistance.

The Oplan Pagbabago was adapted as a special provincial government program of Gov. Uy through Executive Order 028-2018 to provide assistance to former rebels in the province. As a prerequisite, the beneficiaries must have already surrendered and have sought support from the government for a more peaceful life with their families.

The program already helped more than 7,000 people throughout the province.

Meanwhile, a similar program called Oplan Bagong Buhay would help secure the release of some 60 inmates jailed for drug-related offenses from the different jails in the province.

The inmates helped secure their release after they went through a plea bargaining requiring them to enter a rehabilitation program.

Only those arrested on a lesser drug offense were legible for the plea bargain, according to a government guideline on plea bargaining on drug offense. The province said this was allowed by the Supreme Court to speed up the decongestion of jails.

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