22 ex-rebels in Eastern Samar get financial aid

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 23, 2023): 22 ex-rebels in Eastern Samar get financial aid (By Sarwell Meniano and Manny Balbin)

NEW LIFE. The 22 former rebels in Eastern Samar who received financial assistance from the government during a ceremony on Wednesday (Feb. 22 , 2023) in Borongan City. The former rebels received financial assistance from the national government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program for them to start a new life after years of armed struggle. (Photo by DILG Region 8)

TACLOBAN CITY – A total of 22 former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Samar province have received financial assistance from the national government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) as they prepare to start a new life after years of armed struggle.

Each was granted immediate assistance worth P15,000. Also, 12 of them got P50,000 livelihood assistance each, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional office here on Thursday.

The DILG said those who surrendered their firearms got higher benefits as remuneration from the central government. The amount varies according to the kind of firearms surrendered.

During the awarding on Wednesday, DILG Eastern Visayas regional director Arnel Agabe welcomed the surrender of the rebel returnees and offered various assistance from the different national government agencies.

"It’s not easy to attain peace and we have to work for it daily. We urge you to work with the government to attain peace and justice in our communities,” Agabe said during the awarding of benefits at the Philippine Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion in Lalawigan village in Borongan City, Eastern Samar.

E-CLIP is the government’s program for rebels who have surrendered. It aims to help rebel returnees to reintegrate into the community by providing them with a complete package of assistance.

The financial package covers immediate assistance, provision of a reintegration process, a starting capital for livelihood, as well as remunerating surrendered firearms.

In Bulacan, a 70-year-old former NPA member surrendered to authorities in Malolos City on Wednesday.

In his report on Thursday, Colonel Relly Arnedo, provincial director of the Bulacan Police Provincial Office, said the septuagenarian former rebel, identified only as "Ka Lito," turned over a .38-caliber revolver and six live ammunition.

Ka Lito, according to Arnedo, joined the rebel group many years ago to protect his fishing business.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195882