P14.4-M housing project for ex-rebels to rise in Nueva Ecija

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 26, 2021): P14.4-M housing project for ex-rebels to rise in Nueva Ecija (By Jason De Asis)

HOUSING SITE. Representatives from the National Housing Authority and the Army's 91st Infantry Battalion, inspect on Thursday (March 25, 2021) the site for the housing project intended for former rebels in Barangay Antipolo, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. At least 32 former rebels will stand to benefit from this government's housing assistance program. (Photo by the Army's 91st IB)

BALER, Aurora – At least 32 former rebels will soon own houses in Barangay Antipolo, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija as part of the government’s continuing efforts to prepare them for reintegration into society.

Lt. Col. Reandrew P. Rubio, commander of the 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB), Philippine Army, said on Friday the housing program is one of the benefits that former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels could avail of through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-Clip).

Rubio said the PHP14.4-million housing project will be built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) on a lot donated by the local government unit (LGU) of Bongabon.

“The lot was donated by LGU Bongabon through the initiative of Mayor Allan Xystus Gamilla to give our former rebels a chance to enjoy and improve their lives together with the family in their new residence,” he said in an interview.

In the program’s pilot site in Barangay Antipolo, the NHA will construct an 80 square-meter single-detached unit worth PHP450,000 each.

Rubio said representatives from the NHA, 91IB, and Municipal Engineering Office-Bongabon inspected the site on Thursday and discussed with the former rebels the application for housing assistance and other related matters.

He said the E-CLIP can help former rebels to encourage those still in the revolutionary work to also avail of the services offered by the government.

To achieve lasting peace, Rubio said the government is continuously delivering the much-needed services to the communities like the Convergence Program for Poverty Reduction that targets the remotest villages.

Through the convergence program, the LGU gathers resources and interventions from partner government agencies, civil society organizations, and others for a location-specific and comprehensive poverty reduction program.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134981