GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Eight more former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels from parts of South Cotabato province have received financial assistance from the government’s expanded reintegration program.
Grace Rodel, provincial focal person of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), said Monday the beneficiaries were among the former rebels who were endorsed earlier this year by the local government for the assistance program.
She said the financial assistance of PHP80,000 were released last week to each of the eight beneficiaries, who surrendered in December last year.
The amount comprises the PHP20,000 immediate assistance from the provincial government of South Cotabato and PHP60,000 financial and livelihood support from the E-CLIP, she said.
Rodel said six of the returnees will receive additional financial assistance as remuneration for their surrendered firearms.
“The remuneration depends on the type of firearms they surrendered and based on our list, one of them returned a high-powered arm,” she said.
Rodel said they encouraged the returnees to also surrender their firearms “to signify their sincerity” in returning to the fold of the law.
In the last five years, the program already assisted a total of 69 former rebels from the province’s 10 towns and lone city, she noted.
A total of 18 NPA rebels from the area surrendered last year and eight more were added to the list in the last eight months.
Since January, 20 former NPA rebels in the province have already received financial assistance under the E-CLIP, which entitles qualified beneficiaries to livelihood grants, trainings and other aid packages from various government agencies.
The provincial government of South Cotabato likewise provides additional cash assistance to rebels who yield to the government.(Anna liza Cabrido/PNA)
