LIVELIHOOD AID. Some 18 former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army in Nueva Ecija undergo entrepreneurial development training on Wednesday (Aug. 10, 2022) that would help them start new lives with their respective families. The training was under the “Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa” program of the Department of Trade and Industry to support the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program. (Photo courtesy of the Army's 7th Infantry Division)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Eighteen former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Nueva Ecija have undergone entrepreneurial development training that could help them start new lives with their respective families.
The training was conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday, in collaboration with the Army’s 84th Infantry Battalion (84IB) and the local government units of San Jose City and Carranglan in Nueva Ecija.
This is under the DTI’s “Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa”, a livelihood seeding and entrepreneurship development program that aims to support the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP)
Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto, 84IB commander, said on Thursday the former rebels have availed livelihood kits through E-CLIP.
With the help of the DTI, Ileto said they want the former rebels to have basic knowledge on how to use the assistance that was provided to them.
He thanked DTI for actively supporting the efforts of the government in bringing peace and development to the province by providing interventions that could uplift the lives of former rebels.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo, Army’s 7th Infantry Division commander, encouraged the remaining members of the CPP-NPA to lay down their arms and embrace the government’s initiatives in ending the local armed conflict.
“Let us end the conflict so that you can live with your families in peace,” Costelo said in a statement.
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)
