SETBACK. The Negros Oriental Halfway House in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental remains unoccupied due to some hitches since its turnover to the provincial government on April 3, 2023. Funded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the facility will be temporary shelter for former rebels awaiting reintegration into mainstream society. (PNA photo by Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Former rebels (FRs) need to undergo deradicalization first before they are reintegrated into mainstream society, a Negros Oriental official said on Monday.
Hilton Edrial, chief of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said FRs must be prepared physically, emotionally, mentally, and psychologically to avoid culture shock once they return to their communities.
Edrial said it was one of the issues that surfaced during a benchmarking activity in Davao City recently, where a multi-agency team visited the Happy Home halfway house there.
The team included representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) - Negros Oriental, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the PSWDO, and the Provincial Engineer’s Office, among others.
Edrial said they learned from the Happy Home management that many FRs who returned to their communities without undergoing deradicalization usually turned “violent.”
However, the halfway house lacks qualified personnel who can conduct deradicalization.
Other setbacks in the delayed occupancy of the facility include the absence of an administrative office, electricity and water connections, and an operational plan.
“We need a re-entry plan to recalibrate how the halfway house can be fully operational,” he added.
The halfway house, situated inside the compound of the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army at Camp Leon Kilat in Tanjay City, had a PHP 5-million funding from the DILG.
It was turned over to the provincial government on April 3.
The PSWDO is tasked to manage the facility in coordination with the police and the military, who would identify the FRs.
Edrial said the halfway house is a temporary shelter while the FRs’ reintegration is being processed, including their enrollment to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
During their stay at the halfway houses, FRs would also be trained by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. (PNA)
