STARTING A NEW LIFE. At least 28 former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army receive financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development during a payout held at the Capitol Building in Tarlac City on April 11, 2023. Each former rebel received PHP20,000 under the agency's sustainable livelihood program. (Photo courtesy of the Army's 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – At least 28 former rebels, who recently surrendered to authorities, have received livelihood assistance as part of the government’s effort to help them start new lives.
Each former rebel received PHP20,000 under the sustainable livelihood program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during a payout held at the Capitol Building in Barangay San Vicente, Tarlac City on April 11.
Leocadio S. Naelgas, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) in Tarlac, said on Friday that the financial assistance is an added support for the former rebels as they lead new lives in mainstream society together with their families.
“Sana po ay ingatan po nila. Ito po ang programa ng gobyerno para sa kanila na kahit na maliit na halaga ay makakatulong (Hopefully, they will carefully use the assistance. This is a program of the government for them that even though it is a small amount, it can help),” Naelgas said in a statement.
He asked the former rebels to encourage other New People’s Army (NPA) fighters to lay down their arms and return to mainstream society.
This is the third time that the DSWD has distributed financial aid to the former rebels in Tarlac this year.
Last Jan. 10, a total of 18 former rebels in the province received cash aid in a payout held at the DSWD Regional Office in this city.
Another 47 former rebels likewise received a PHP20,000 livelihood assistance each in Tarlac City last Feb. 2.
Lt. Col. Jeszer M. Bautista, commanding officer of the Army 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, thanked the provincial government of Tarlac and other local government agencies for their active participation in the implementation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Bautista expressed hope that the former rebels would properly use the financial assistance as they return to normal lives. (PNA)
