NEW LIFE. Government officials award certificates to former rebels in Northern Samar who completed the skills training program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) on Thursday (June 4, 2020). At least 18 former rebels have undergone the three-month training on bread and pastry production and cookery at Las Navas Agro-Industrial School in Las Navas town. (Photo courtesy of Northern Samar provincial information office)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least 18 former rebels in Northern Samar completed on Thursday the skills training program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
In a statement, TESDA Eastern Visayas Director Dante Navarro said the graduates have undergone a three-month training on bread and pastry production and cookery at Las Navas Agro-Industrial School in Las Navas town.
TESDA awarded certificates of training to the graduates and distributed starter tool kits consisting of an electric oven, pastry blender, and other cooking and baking materials.
Each former rebel also received PHP4,900 allowance, Navarro said.
“The special skills training program is part of the interventions given to former rebels as a component of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). This ensures that rebels who surrender to the government can avail of a holistic package of benefits such as livelihood, medical, education, and even legal assistance,” he added.
During the awarding ceremony, 12 of the former rebels, who are farmworkers of the provincial agriculture office, also received their monthly salary.
Some of them have also got their Philippine Health Insurance Corporation identification cards, which they can use to avail of the government’s universal health care program, the Northern Samar provincial information office reported.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army expressed their continued support as the former rebels carry on with their reintegration process in society.
“We are here to guide and help them as they start living a normal life and become part of the province’s progress,” said Lt. Col. Juan Gullem, commanding officer of the Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion.
Northern Samar is considered to be the New People’s Army (NPA) stronghold in Eastern Visayas due to poor network, thick forest, high poverty incidence, and low level of education in upland communities.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
