TAGUM CITY-- The National Housing Authority (NHA) is set to award a total of 50 housing units to the first batch of New People's Army (NPA) surrenderers from Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental.
This, after personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) — the original beneficiaries of the project — decided to waive their rights in favor of the former NPAs.
During Friday's visit at the housing site in this city along with NHA officials, Lt. General Macairog Alberto underscored the importance of prioritizing rebel returnees in the government's housing program to attract more communist insurgents to return to the mainstream society and live peaceful lives.
Alberto was with NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. and other Army officials to inspect the "Biyaya ng Pagbabago"
Freedom Residences, a three-hectare area in Cuambogan, this city, which is touted to be the first settlement for rebel returnees in the country.
Escalada, who is also secretary general of the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said that initially a total of 31 former rebels will the first occupants of the first 50 completed units.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte will head the turn-over, he said, which is tentatively set at the end of the month.
Escalada said each housing unit costs PHP450,000 with a floor area of 33 sq. meters, featuring a loft and extra seven sq. meters for laundry area.
He said Freedom Residences has a total of 375 units, with provisions for a training facility to provide NPA surrenders with necessary livelihood skills.
Some two hectares will also be developed as a commercial area where owners can engage in small business, he added.
The 31 ex-NPAs are among the first 50 beneficiaries that have been fully evaluated by the government through the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Evaluation Program (e-CLIP).
Maj. Gen. Felimon T. Santos Jr., commander Eastern Mindanao Command, added that aside from the E-CLIP programs, Army units have also been directed to "work closely with other government agencies and stakeholders for them to come up for a comprehensive program" for former rebels.
"Critical to the FRs (former rebels) is the post-surrender intervention and social preparation, which allows them to be integrated into mainstream society as a productive and law-abiding citizen," Santos noted. (PNA)
