(By Che Palicte)
DAVAO CITY – Former New People's Army (NPA) rebels will now have a temporary home in this city with the opening of the halfway house called "Kalinaw Village" this September.
The "Kalinaw Village" aims to provide the former rebels transitional activities for six months before going back to their respective communities and families, the city government said in a statement Friday.
"Kalinaw Village" is a PHP10-million residential facility built by the city government and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) featuring an administration building, a male and female dormitory, and a conjugal home.
The project was conceptualized in 2018 and the construction started in April 2019.
Government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), will assist the management of intervention programs for the former rebels, the local government said.
Ma. Luisa Bermudo, head of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), said the ex-NPA rebels will undergo a 14-day de-radicalization process under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) before they will be admitted to the halfway-home.
“Right now, the admin building is already finished, while the construction of the dormitories is already around 40 percent,” she said.
Bermudo said that the former rebels will engage in transitioning activities such as livelihood and productive skills training and psychological and psychosocial intervention for six months.
Former communist guerillas will also receive assistance under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), and enrolment to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
“They have been with the [NPA] movement for many years. They have been away from society for so long. So, the half-way home is an intervention program before we bring them back to their family and community,” Bermudo said.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1112290
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