Contributed photo
CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay, Rizal – Seven former rebels, including two child warriors who recently surrendered to government forces, successfully completed last August 21 the two-day Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program in the province.
Lt. Col. Rimrad Feraer, commanding officer of the 80th Infantry Battalion which led the event, said the former rebels who joined the program belong to the Dumagat Remontado's tribe of the Sierra Madres.
He added that the undertaking was “a result of our consultation with the IP tribal leaders who pointed out that most of the Dumagat former rebels are suffering from psychological trauma resulting from being forced, coerced and threatened at gunpoint by the NPA (New People’s Army) terrorists to support the underground movement.”
In his report, Feraer said the highlight of the program was the psychosocial debriefing which was facilitated by a qualified and competent social worker from the Department of Social and Welfare Development’s Region 4-A (Calabarzon) field office.
Brig. Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigade which has operational jurisdiction over the area, said: “the government is aware and sensitive to the fact that beyond the financial grants under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program, it is imperative that we extend professional help to our former rebels, particularly the minors, so that they may be able to once again lead normal lives.”
He said the endeavor is the first in Southern Tagalog and is a product of collaboration and cooperation between the government’s AFP, DILG, DSWD, TESDA and NCIP which was supported by the private sector particularly by DV Boer International Farm Incorporated which is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for a whole of nation approach in solving insurgency.
Rillera reaffirmed his commitment to his previous proclamation that his “soldiers will do everything within our means to protect our indigenous people’s innocence and peaceful nature from being exploited by the NPA terrorists whose desperation for relevance has turned them into a mere ragtag band of miscreants who have no place in Philippine society.”
Maj. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division which covers Southern Tagalog, took cognizance of Regional Task Force ELCAC 4-A’s innovation and going the extra mile to help the former rebels who decided to turn their backs from armed struggle.
“This significant activity is a manifestation of the Filipino people’s genuine yearning for peace and collective desire to help our fellow men who went astray or fell victim to deception and exploitation of the NPA terrorists,” Burgos said.
He condemned “the NPA’s rampant violation of internationally recognized conventions particularly those calling for the respect of the Indigenous People’s rights and those prohibiting the recruitment of minors” describing these as “deplorable acts within the terrorist organization which no word can ever justify."
The military said four out of the seven former rebels have already received PHP65,000 representing the immediate and livelihood cash assistance under E-CLIP.
The enrollment of the three other FRs to the program is currently on the process and their benefits are expected to be released anytime next month.
As of the moment, 2ID has recorded a total of 132 Dumagats who were liberated from the clutches of NPA terrorism since January 2020.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113581
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