Government Provides Livelihood Assistance to 11 Former NPA Rebels

Eleven (11) Former Rebels (FRs) who surrendered to Army’s 53rd Infantry “Matapat” Battalion (53IB) received livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on October 12, 2020 at 53rd IB Headquarters, Camp Sabido, Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur.

The DSWD thru its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Regional Office IX distributed the Provision of Livelihood Assistance amounting to a total of Php 220,000 with Php 20,000 each FR.

The payout of the provision of livelihood assistance was facilitated by the team of DSWD-SLP Provincial Coordinator Ms. Therese Maravel Arcenal, who was optimistic that more [NPA terrorists] will know of the various government programs such as this, and eventually return to the folds of the law.

53rd IB Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera thanked the DSWD for the said payout, saying it is a great help to the FRs’ transition to the mainstream society.

The said FRs have already undergone the required psycho-social activity by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and have already availed the E-CLIP program of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) amounting to a total of Php 65,000 each.

This program of the DSWD is aligned with the mandates of Executive Order No. 70 signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte which seeks to institutionalize the Whole of Nation approach mandating the creation of a Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC).