Zambo Sibugay to build halfway house for ex-rebels

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 13, 2019): Zambo Sibugay to build halfway house for ex-rebels

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay – The provincial government of Zamboanga Sibugay will establish a halfway house to serve as a temporary shelter of former rebels as they prepare to return to mainstream society.

Engr. Romel Duran, focal person for the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) in the province, said on Friday the halfway house will be located in the 1,500-square-meter lot inside the 5.7-hectare property of the provincial government in Barangay Tenan, this town.

“The halfway house will receive and process the rebel returnees as the government provides them with necessary assistance and skills to make their transition to life as peaceful civilians stress-free,” Duran said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has turned over PHP5 million on September 3 to the provincial government for the construction of the halfway house for rebel returnees.

Under the E-CLIP, financial assistance, compensation and reward are provided to the rebel returnees in exchange for the firearms they turned in.

Governor Wilter Yap Palma said that lasting peace "does not end with the rebels returning to the fold of the law, but with the government providing greatly necessary services to the people".

“I am very much supporting their role to the community and nation- building that they have chosen to return to normal lives,” Palma said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1080413