GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The provincial government of South Cotabato has started preparatory works for the development of its planned halfway home for former and returning New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
Ma. Ana Uy, acting head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, said Thursday they are presently drawing up a development plan for the facility, which is targeted to open later next year.
She said the halfway home would be patterned after the operations of an existing facility for former rebels in Mati, Davao Oriental.
A team from the local government’s technical working group recently visited the Mati halfway home to study its management and operation, she said.
Uy said they are set to meet with South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes to present their learnings and the initial development plan for the halfway home.
The Mati halfway home has been operating in the last 10 years and is manned by regular local government personnel, she said.
She said returning rebels are accommodated at the facility for six months to undergo a series of interventions like livelihood and leadership trainings before their formal integration into local communities.
“This is to ensure that the returnees will have no chance of going back to their previous groups and activities,” Uy said.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had signified to help fund the construction of the province’s halfway home, which will be situated within a property in Barangay Morales that was previously donated by the local government to the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office.
The DILG has allotted grants of P5 million to local government units, including the province, that have signified to establish a halfway home for returning rebels.
A halfway home or house refers to the temporary residence that serves as the processing center for former rebels.
The facility could also be used to cater to other individuals in crisis situations such as victims of violence against women and children, juvenile delinquents, former convicts and times of disaster.
The DILG issued last June the guidelines that detailed the systems and procedures on the establishment of the “halfway homes,” which is a component of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP).
The CLIP started in 2014 and aims to facilitate the mainstreaming of former NPA rebels as productive citizens; enhance capacities of LGUs and national government agencies in the implementation and sustainability of the CLIP; and compensate and remunerate all surrendered firearms, including those coming from the NPA.
Seven former rebels have so far received financial assistance of P15,000 from the provincial government this year under the CLIP and four more are undergoing processing for the same benefits.(AC/PNA)
