AID FOR EX-REBELS. Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas (4th from left) on Feb. 2, 2022 turns over cash assistance to three former members of the New People's Army who recently surrendered. Police Regional Office Cordillera information officer Capt. Marnie Abellanida said the assistance from the provincial government is on top of the benefits the surrenderers will receive under the enhanced local integration program of the national government. (Photo courtesy of Benguet PIO)
BAGUIO CITY – A total of three former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who recently returned to the fold of the law received financial assistance from the Benguet provincial government.
In a press statement on Friday, Police Regional Office-Cordillera information officer Capt. Marnie Abellanida said the three former rebels surrendered to the Benguet Provincial Police Office.
He added that the aid is aside from the financial assistance and remuneration for surrendered firearms from the government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
Abellanida said they will be assessed and processed under the E-CLIP before receiving full financial assistance.
The government’s assistance program to former rebels was institutionalized to encourage the rebels to return to the fold of the law in exchange for a better life with their loved ones.
In a separate post, the Benguet Public Information Office said Governor Melchor Diclas, who led the turnover of the financial assistance on February 2 at the provincial capitol, thanked the Philippine National Police for their continued effort for the efficient and effective implementation of the whole-of-nation approach against insurgency.
During the ceremony, the former rebels also turned over firearms to authorities.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA)
