Ex-rebels get reintegration assistance

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  — The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) distributed last Tuesday P50,000 check to each of the 14 former rebels in Leyte province.

Gwyndalynn Malate, focal person for the Former Rebel (FR) Program, said the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process (OPAPP) has transferred to the Leyte provincial government fund a total of P685,000 as additional reintegration assistance to the 14 former rebels.

In a meeting held at the PSWD, Malate briefed the former rebels the details of the fund assistance released by OPAPP to ensure that it will be used to uplift their lives as they return to the mainstream society.

"Aside from the P20,000 in basic immediate assistance (BIA) by OPAPP, each of the FRs has earlier received P7,000 cash aid from the provincial government through Governor Jericho Petilla. Additional P25,000 was given by the provincial government to an FR who surrendered with firearms," said Malate.

Nine of the 14 beneficiaries were FRs who voluntarily surrendered to the 19th Infantry Battalion from 2007 to 2010. They were later placed under the social integration program (SIP) with the help of the Leyte provincial government.

Lieutenant Col. Francis Cabugon, 19th IB commander, hoped that with Governor Petilla's peace and development efforts, remnants of NPA rebels in Leyte will abandon their armed struggle and surrender before this year ends.  

The PSWDO said it will be releasing more financial assistance to the four FRs who surrendered to the 19th IB this year. It added that the government has been offering the SIP to rebels who wish to return to the folds of the law. —1st Lt. Philip James B. Hocson, Civil-Military Operation Officer, 19th IB