Ex-rebels in Negros get livelihood aid

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 15, 2023): Ex-rebels in Negros get livelihood aid (By Nanette Guadalquiver)

ASSISTANCE. Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson (right) of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental turns over financial aid amounting to PHP10,000 to a former New People's Army rebel granted under the DSWD Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation in rites held at the City Hall on Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2023). The activity was witnessed by troops of the Philippine Army led by Col. Orlando Edralin (left), commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade. (Photo courtesy of 303rd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army)

BACOLOD CITY – A total of 25 former rebels of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental each received PHP10,000 in livelihood aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

In a report on Wednesday, the Philippine Army said the assistance was distributed in rites led by Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson, chair of the city's Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict; Col. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade; and Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commander of the 94th Infantry Battalion, at the City Hall on Tuesday.

"I thank the Himamaylan local government unit for supporting the whole-of-nation approach to reduce and eradicate insurgency in central Negros. The Army strongly supports this initiative, and we welcome those who want to lay down their arms," Edralin said in a statement.

Tongson thanked the former rebels for giving the government a chance to regain their trust.

"We will work together to support the Himamaylanons who have decided to return to the fold of the law and be reunited with their families," the mayor said in a separate statement.

The city government facilitated the release of the aid under the DSWD Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation.

Using the PHP10,000 cash assistance, the former rebels can start a small business to sustain their daily needs while processing the release of their benefits under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

They also received hygiene, sleeping, kitchen, and personal supplies from the DSWD.

Through the E-CLIP, former rebels or their qualified beneficiaries receive benefits, such as guaranteed safety and security, financial assistance, subsistence allowance, food expenses while in the custody of the receiving unit, travel and mobilization expenses, and corresponding compensation for surrendered firearms.

Some hinterland villages of Himamaylan, particularly Buenavista and Carabalan, have been the sites of armed encounters between Philippine Army troops and NPA rebels in the past year.

Last October, more than 5,000 families in Carabalan and three adjacent villages, including one in neighboring Binalbagan town, were affected by the series of clashes.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1195256