PROFILING. Former rebels of the Communist Party of the Philipines-New People's Army are being profiled by staff of the Department of Trade and Industry in Negros Oriental on June 3, 2022. More than 300 FRs in Negros Oriental have received livelihood assistance from the DTI under its Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa program. (Photo from DTI-Negros Oriental's Facebook page)
DUMAGUETE CITY – More than 300 former rebels (FRs) of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros Oriental have received livelihood kits from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) since 2020, a key official here said Monday.
DTI-Negros Oriental provincial director Nimfa Virtucio said 30 other FRs are being profiled to also receive the livelihood kits, amounting to PHP8,000 each.
“This is part of our mandate and contribution to the government under Executive Order No. 70 of President Rodrigo Duterte for a whole-of-nation approach under the ELCAC (End Local Communist Armed Conflict) program,” Virtucio said in mixed English and Cebuano.
The Philippine Army provides the DTI with the list and certification of the FRs who can avail of the livelihood assistance, and the recipients undergo profiling to determine what kind of business they have or would like to engage in, she added.
“We give out goats, cattle, even food push-carts, or mini sari-sari stores, depending on their preferences, but we do not give out cash but procure these for them,” she said.
The FRs also undergo a series of training on how to run a business, other livelihood management skills, and financial literacy, she added.
This is under the DTI’s Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (DTI-PBG) program.
Meanwhile, Virtucio said not only FRs but residents in Task Force ELCAC-identified barangays can also avail of the program but have to undergo the process.
Last June 3, the provincial DTI, the Philippine Army, the local government, and other agencies of the local TF-ELCAC attended a stakeholders' convergence for FRs’ Livelihood Sustainment in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.
Aside from the DTI profiling, some 24 FRs were given a total of 120 bottles of vitamins from the Guihulngan City Health Office; 10 sacks of corn seeds; 19 packs of vegetable seeds; two sacks of fertilizers; and six sacks of rice seeds from the Agriculture Office of Guihulngan City.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
