The provincial government of South
Cotabato is pushing for the integration of various reforms in the
implementation of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) for former
rebels in the area.
Nelida Periera, Provincial Social Welfare and Development
Office chief, said Tuesday they are currently studying various measures to
ensure that the program will only benefit “genuine” former rebels.
Citing their records, she said a number of the program’s
beneficiaries in the past years were returnees who only stayed for several
weeks with local units of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Some of them acted as cooks and helpers for the rebels and
have not even experienced holding a firearm or any weapon, she said.
The official said the Joint Armed Forces of the
Philippines-Philippine National Police Intelligence Committee (JAPIC) is
currently considering some policy changes to address the problem.
JAPIC is mainly tasked to verify the identity of the
returnees following their surrender to authorities, she said.
“The committee should be able to properly distinguish the
beneficiaries so as not to waste the program’s efforts and money,” Periera
said.
CLIP reintegrates former rebels into the social mainstream
and uplifts their socio-economic conditions to enable them to become active
partners in the local development.
The program also seeks to contribute towards the achievement
of the goal of permanent peaceful closure of all armed conflicts with non-state
armed groups.
Under the program, former rebels could avail of around
PHP15,000 in immediate assistance for mobilization expenses while their
enrolment into the CLIP is being processed.
The beneficiaries may eventually get livelihood assistance
of as much as PHP50,000 with their integration into the program.
Those qualified for the program are “regular members of the
NPA who have expressed the desire to abandon armed violence.”
Capt. Maynard Fernandez, executive officer of the Army’s
27th Infantry Battalion, said they are working on the establishment of a
community for former rebels aside from setting reforms in the verification of
their identities.
He specifically noted an area or site where all former
rebels could live together with their families to ensure their safety and
protection.
“But as of now it might be difficult to convince the former
rebels, especially the members of indigenous communities, to stay in a
specified location so we’re carefully looking into it,” he said.(
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=752841
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