P91.47M financial aid given to rebel surenderers under Marcos admin

A TOTAL of P91.47 million worth of financial assistance were provided to former rebels and surrenderers through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (EClip) under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a report to Malacañang, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a total of 1,119 former rebels, consisting of 821 New People’s Army (NPA) fighters and 298 Militia ng Bayan (MB) members, have received financial assistance as of November 2023.

The DILG said 1,055 beneficiaries received immediate assistance, 713 were bestowed with livelihood assistance, 1,074 were reintegrated and 264 received renumeration for the firearms they turned over to government forces.

In a bid to further strengthen the peace-building efforts of local government units (LGUs) under the Campaign to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (Elcac), the DILG said it is continuously implementing the Communicating for Perpetual End for Extreme Violence and Forming Alliance Towards Positive Peace and Enriched Communities (C4Peace) Program, which utilizes two primary convergence mechanisms.

These mechanisms include the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) and the Capacitating Urban Communities for Peace and Development (CUCPD), which support and enhance LGU capabilities in addressing governance and development gaps, especially in conflict-affected and vulnerable communities.

The DILG also maintained its commitment to advocate the government’s fight against violent extremism through the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Program.

Under the program, the agency conducted PCVE and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) awareness and preparedness training to address grave security threats posed by terrorism and the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) National Democratic Front of the Philippines, only has remaining 14 “weakened” guerilla fronts.

NTF-Elcac executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said all the other guerilla fronts of the communist group have already been dismantled. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)