PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- Some 25 former rebels, their dependents, and a few indigenous peoples (IPs) in southern Palawan recently received garden tools and starter seeds after completing a 10-day training on organic vegetable production and farming in Brooke’s Point, southern Palawan.
The training, which leads to Organic Agriculture Production (OAP) NC II course, was held in May but the vegetable gardening tools and seedlings were only distributed on August 6, Abigail Ablaña, the chief of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) in the province, on Thursday said.
Ablaña said these are part of the Local Social Integration Program (LSIP) of the provincial government of Palawan under the PSWDO.
“Actually, ang ibinigay sa kanila na garden or farm tools ay bahagi ng local amnesty program natin na LSIP for former rebels, yong mga dependents din nila at mga IPs para naman hindi sila ma-motivate to join the leftist movement kapag nire-recruit (Actually, the garden or farm tools are part of our local amnesty program, which is LSIP for former rebels, their dependents, and the IPs so they will not be motivated to join the leftist movement when they are being recruited),” she said.
The training is implemented by the provincial government with the military’s Western Command (Wescom), the municipal government of Brooke’s Point under Mayor Mary Jean Feliciano, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide livelihood means to the returnees in the southern part of the province.
The short TESDA course trained participants in the production of organic farm products, including supplements such as fertilizers, applying safety in farm operations, producing organic vegetables, and other skills.
It is aside from the financial support and the assistance they were already awarded for shelter, education, food, counseling, and others.
“We saw the need to do this for our former rebels and their dependents para meron silang livelihood ngayong bumalik na sila sa mainstream ng society (so they’ll have livelihood now that they are back in mainstream society),” she added.
Meanwhile, Myla Pamplona of the TESDA in Palawan, said the 25 trainees will be assessed soon for their certificates of competency on organic vegetable production (OVP), which can lead them to being NC II certified on OAP should they decide to pursue their training.
“Sila pa lang ang mga former rebels na nag-undergo ng competency training na ito. I-a-assess sila para makuha nila ang certificate of competency, wala pa lang available ngayon na mag-e-evaluate (They are the first group of former rebels to undergo their competency training. They will be assessed to get their certificates of competency, unfortunately, the evaluator is not available right now),” she said also Thursday.
The LSIP is implemented by the PSWDO after the approval of the Provincial Board of Palawan of local Ordinance 1540 in 2015, which establishes the implementing guidelines on the provision of assistance to rebel returnees.
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