/PNA
ILOILO CITY — The government is ready to welcome communist terrorist rebels who would like to surrender under the localized peace talks.
Those who surrender are offered the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), Capt. Eduardo A. Precioso Jr., chief of the 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office said in an interview Thursday.
Precioso said poverty and lack of opportunities for livelihood were the reasons given by the surrenderers for joining the communist movement.
He emphasized that E-CLIP could help change the mindset of the rebels and that the government will always look after their welfare. “We are offering them a long-term solution,” he said.
Under E-CLIP, the rebels, upon surrendering, will receive PHP15,000 each in immediate assistance. They will also be entitled to a PHP50,000 livelihood assistance from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and livelihood program from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, depending on the assessment that will be done by the concerned agency, as well as educational benefits, housing, and a parcel of land.
However, they still have to undergo various processes that are required by the program, and secure a certificate from the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police Intelligence Community that they are members of the New People’s Army and are qualified to avail of the E-CLIP.
Meanwhile on January 29, the provincial government of Capiz extended a PHP10,000 cash assistance to a former rebel who surrendered in 2018.
In a press statement, the former rebel, alias Jr, surrendered due to “fatigue and extreme hunger”.
Col. Alberto Desoyo, commander of the Army’s 301st Infantry (Bayanihan) Brigade who awarded the assistance, said the gesture “is the government’s way of showing its sincerity to help those who voluntarily returned to the fold of the law.”
“We are expecting more surrenders as we intensify our anti-insurgency campaign with the overwhelming support of various sectors in Panay,” Desoyo said.
Since 2014, more or less 50 former rebels from Capiz have received financial assistance of PHP10,000 each.
In 2018, the 61st Infantry (Hunter) Battalion, under the leadership of Lt. Col. Sisenando Magbalot Jr., facilitated the surrender of 59 Militia ng Bayan and three regular NPA members in Cuartero, Capiz.
“You might as well surrender because we have here local government units and various agencies of the government to help you live life anew and uplift you from poverty through legal means,” Precioso said.
