NEW LEASE IN LIFE. Fifty-six former Moro extremists in Lanao del Sur are given livelihood aid Sunday (Oct. 23, 2022) to help them restart their lives with their respective families. The BARMM government said the surrenderers from Dawlah Islamiya and the Maute terror groups are assured of PHP20,000 in financial assistance each, to be given in tranches. (Photo courtesy of BIO-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – Fifty-six former Moro extremists in Lanao del Sur who surrendered to the government received PHP1.1 million in livelihood aid as they rejoined the mainstream society, an official said Monday.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interior minister, said ex-Dawlah Islamiya (DI) and Maute terror group members in Lanao del Sur received an initial financial assistance worth PHP5,000 and food packs, amounting to PHP7,500 from the regional government on Sunday.
Sinarimbo, the concurrent BARMM spokesperson, said the distribution was held at the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade in Camp Ranao, Marawi City, through Project TUGON (Tulong ng Gobyernong Nagmamalaskit) of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government.
“The program aims to transition former combatants, who have returned to the fold of the law, back to the mainstream and to ensure that they will not revert to unlawful activities,” he said.
Each former rebel will get PHP20,000, which will be distributed by tranche every month.
A former DI member was quoted by the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO) as saying that life was hard while he was with the lawless group in the mountains of Lanao Sur.
“While still active in the underground extremism, we were trained to kill and be killed, but now we are okay, I can now eat enough,” the DI member who identified himself as “Mim” recalled.
Mim hopes his colleagues will follow suit and avail of the government peace offer.
Since the launch of Project TUGON in 2020, BIO-BARMM said 132 surrenderers from Maguindanao, 56 from Lanao del Sur, and 53 from Sulu have been profiled and have benefited from the project. (PNA)
