NEW LIFE. Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera (3rd from right); Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. Maria Angelica Amante-Matba (right); Army 402nd brigade commander, Brig. Gen. Maurito Licudine (3rd from left); and 23IB commander Lt. Col. Julius Cesar Paulo (left), spearhead the turnover of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) benefits to 21 former rebels on Monday (June 15, 2020) in Butuan City. Each of the former rebels received PHP86,000 as immediate livelihood and re-integration assistance, as well as hygiene kits from the Department of Health in Caraga Region (DOH-13). (Photo courtesy of 23IB)
Twenty-one former members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) received financial livelihood assistance from the government through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
Monday's distribution of the financial assistance at the Balanghai Hotel here was led by Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera and Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. Maria Angelica Amante-Matba.
Of the 21 former rebels who received assistance, 15 surrendered to the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion, four yielded to the 29th Infantry Battalion, while two to the Police Regional Office-Caraga (PRO-13).
Each of the former rebels received PHP86,000 as immediate livelihood and re-integration assistance, as well as hygiene kits from the Department of Health in the Caraga Region (DOH-13).
A total of 12 firearms were also turned over by the former rebels to the government during the distribution ceremony.
The firearms include two M16 rifles, one AK-47 rifle, four carbines, one Garand rifle, one shotgun, one .45-caliber pistol, and one .38-caliber pistol.
“Karla”--not her real name--who was one of the 21 former rebels who received assistance said she was recruited by the communist rebels when she was only 14 and was promised they will pay for her studies.
She never got what was promised, she said, prompting her to quit the rebel movement and surrender to Amante-Matba on March 27, 2019.
Amante-Matba turned over Karla to the 23IB where she stayed in a half-way house inside the battalion headquarters while processing her papers for the ECLIP.
While at the half-way house, she met a member of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) whom she married in rites facilitated inside the 23IB headquarters last December 18.
“I thank the government for the opportunity given to me to renew my life. I am looking for a bright future especially that I already have a child and a family. The financial assistance I received through the ECLIP program is a big help to me and my family,” Karla said.
She also cited the 23IB for providing her an abode inside their headquarters and a community where she was able to socialize with other former rebels who wanted to change their lives.
In a statement Monday, Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, 23IB commander, said he was elated to see the growing number of NPA rebels leaving the movement for good.
“I am glad that more and more members of CNTs (communist NPA terrorists) are now coming back to the folds of the law and decided to embrace a peaceful life and reintegrated into the mainstream society,” Paulo said.
He also called on the remaining rebels in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and part of Misamis Oriental to go back to mainstream society "while they still have a chance".
“We are always willing to help you to live a normal life and we will never hesitate to assist you in availing the E-CLIP program of the government for you to start a new life. Let us help one another in ending an insurgency that added to the problems our government faces nowadays,” Paulo said.
In an interview Monday, Brig. Gen. Maurito Licudine, 402nd Brigade commander, underscored the importance of the ECLIP program in encouraging NPA members to surrender.
“The ECLIP program is a venue for the rebels to have an option other than to fight it out with the government,” Licudine said.
He added that ECLIP does not only involve the payments for the firearms the former rebels turn in but also on how they would be integrated into the mainstream society.
Licudine also reported that 13 former NPA rebels received their ECLIP assistance on June 11 in Surigao City.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1105938
Monday's distribution of the financial assistance at the Balanghai Hotel here was led by Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera and Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. Maria Angelica Amante-Matba.
Of the 21 former rebels who received assistance, 15 surrendered to the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion, four yielded to the 29th Infantry Battalion, while two to the Police Regional Office-Caraga (PRO-13).
Each of the former rebels received PHP86,000 as immediate livelihood and re-integration assistance, as well as hygiene kits from the Department of Health in the Caraga Region (DOH-13).
A total of 12 firearms were also turned over by the former rebels to the government during the distribution ceremony.
The firearms include two M16 rifles, one AK-47 rifle, four carbines, one Garand rifle, one shotgun, one .45-caliber pistol, and one .38-caliber pistol.
“Karla”--not her real name--who was one of the 21 former rebels who received assistance said she was recruited by the communist rebels when she was only 14 and was promised they will pay for her studies.
She never got what was promised, she said, prompting her to quit the rebel movement and surrender to Amante-Matba on March 27, 2019.
Amante-Matba turned over Karla to the 23IB where she stayed in a half-way house inside the battalion headquarters while processing her papers for the ECLIP.
While at the half-way house, she met a member of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) whom she married in rites facilitated inside the 23IB headquarters last December 18.
“I thank the government for the opportunity given to me to renew my life. I am looking for a bright future especially that I already have a child and a family. The financial assistance I received through the ECLIP program is a big help to me and my family,” Karla said.
She also cited the 23IB for providing her an abode inside their headquarters and a community where she was able to socialize with other former rebels who wanted to change their lives.
In a statement Monday, Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, 23IB commander, said he was elated to see the growing number of NPA rebels leaving the movement for good.
“I am glad that more and more members of CNTs (communist NPA terrorists) are now coming back to the folds of the law and decided to embrace a peaceful life and reintegrated into the mainstream society,” Paulo said.
He also called on the remaining rebels in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and part of Misamis Oriental to go back to mainstream society "while they still have a chance".
“We are always willing to help you to live a normal life and we will never hesitate to assist you in availing the E-CLIP program of the government for you to start a new life. Let us help one another in ending an insurgency that added to the problems our government faces nowadays,” Paulo said.
In an interview Monday, Brig. Gen. Maurito Licudine, 402nd Brigade commander, underscored the importance of the ECLIP program in encouraging NPA members to surrender.
“The ECLIP program is a venue for the rebels to have an option other than to fight it out with the government,” Licudine said.
He added that ECLIP does not only involve the payments for the firearms the former rebels turn in but also on how they would be integrated into the mainstream society.
Licudine also reported that 13 former NPA rebels received their ECLIP assistance on June 11 in Surigao City.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1105938
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