BONTOC, Mountain Province – Three former rebels here who recently returned to mainstream society received livelihood assistance from the national government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP)
Governor and CLIP chairman Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. and Department of the Interior and Local Government Provincial Director Anthony Ballug handed the financial assistance of P50,000 each to the former rebels (FRs) in a simple ceremony held at the DILG office here recently.
They also were provided socio economic interventions, capability building activities and livelihood trainings conducted by Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
Lacwasan urged the FRs to properly utilize the financial aid as this will help them start and improve their lives. He also challenged them to support all initiatives of sustaining peace and prosperity in the province.
For his part, Ballug said the government especially the local government units are ready to provide assistance to rebels who opt to lay down their arms and live peacefully in the community.
Constant life on the run, hardship of life in the hills and the possibility of being killed are among the reasons the FRs decided to return to the fold of the law.
To date, the DILG provincial office reported that 17 FRs availed of the P15,000 immediate financial assistance and the P50,000 worth livelihood assistance from the government’s CLIP coursed through the DILG.
CLIP focuses on the integration of members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army who decide to abandon armed struggle and rejoin mainstream society. Cash incentives will also be given to rebels who will surrender their firearms. **PIA Mountain Province
