539 ex-rebels in Caraga get P10.7-M grant from DSWD in ‘22

From the Philippine News Agency (May 25, 2023): 539 ex-rebels in Caraga get P10.7-M grant from DSWD in ‘22 (By Alexander Lopez)

BUTUAN CITY – At least 539 former combatants of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the Caraga Region were provided with livelihood settlement grants through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) in 2022.

In a statement Thursday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Caraga (DSWD-13) said the SLP is in line with Executive Order No. 70 (EO 70), which institutionalized the whole-of-nation approach to attain inclusive and sustainable peace.

EO 70 also created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and directed the adoption of a national peace framework of the government.

Last year, each of the recipients got PHP20,000 grant for a total of PHP10.78 million.

The grant intends to help the ex-rebels and their families establish livelihood and economic activities in their communities to improve their living conditions.

For this year, nine former NPA rebels have so far availed of the livelihood grant amounting to PHP180,000.

Since 2020, some 1,343 former NPA combatants were provided with livelihood assistance. In the same year, some 203 former rebels were given PHP4.06 million livelihood grants, and another PHP11.84 million to 592 former rebels in the following year.

To date, the DSWD-13 said some PHP26.86 million worth of livelihood grants were already released to the beneficiaries.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1202184