25 former NPAs, facilitators received financial assistance from OPAPP

TACLOBAN CITY – A total of 25 former New People’s Army rebels and five facilitators recently received financial assistance from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) and from the provincial government of Northern Samar.

The assistance was made possible through the implementation of the Social Integration Program of the government wherein rebels are convinced to return to the mainstream society and start a new life.

Beneficiaries who were given financial and livelihood assistance were former members of Batakang Organisasyon han Partido (BOP), a CPP/NPA mass organization in the barangays received a total of P355,000 as livelihood financial assistance through the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) of OPAPP and the Local Social Integration Program (LSIP) of Northern Samar, spearheaded by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office on November 28 headed by Carmen Mejia and the 802nd Infantry Brigade and the 20th Infantry Battalion.

According to Mejia, six former NPA regulars received P40,000 each; one unit militiaman received P10,000 as cash assistance; four BOP leaders received P5,000 each; eight facilitators or those who worked out and negotiated for the surrender of NPA regulars also received P5,000 each; and the 18 members of the defunct BOP received a livelihood cash assistance amounting to P50,000.

This was given after the conduct of a three – day social preparation or livelihood workshop on reintegration and rehabilitation conducted by the PSWDO to prepare them before they reintegrated into the mainstream society to start a new, normal and decent lives along with their families.

All beneficiaries are from Barangay Santander in the municipality of Bobon, according to Mejia.
 “We have a group that ensures that this people who wanted to avail the program are indeed rebels,” said Mejia.

The group, according to Mejia, is composed of AFP and PNP personnel who validates if rebel returnee has no pending criminal record, PSDWO and members from civil society groups.

Meanwhile, 20th Infantry Battalion commanding officer Lt. Colonel Noel Vestuir said that these former NPA regulars, militia and BOP members came out and voluntarily surfaced after the series of Bayanihan Team activities conducted by the troops of 20IB in the province.

“After knowing the programs of the government that would indeed help them in starting a new life, they realized the futility of their continued resistance and support to the terrorist group, ”Vestuir said in a press statement .

Vestuir also called on other NPA regulars, militia and members of CPP/NPA allied organizations to come out and rejoin their former comrades in the mainstream society.

 Furthermore, from the month of May until this month the provincial government of Northern Samar had already released more than P1 million for the 56 beneficiaries of the social integration program of the national and local government based on PSWDO data, according to Mejia.

The fund of the provincial government for financial assistance, according to Mejia, was made possible by the provincial ordinance on Social Integration Program that mandates the provincial government to annually allocate funds for the program which seeks to lessen if not totally get rid of influence of rebels in the area under territorial jurisdiction of the province.

Mejia also stressed that to ensure that the recipients would not go back becoming rebelsagain a monitoring team was created in each town where the former rebels are residing.