Seven ex-rebels get government aid

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Seven former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) received financial assistance through the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the provincial government of Negros Occidental yesterday.

The rebel returnees each received a check for P15,000 during a ceremony led by Elena Serenias, head of the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office, held at the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Negros Occidental office in Barangay Mandalagan here.

One former rebel received an additional P50,000 as remuneration for the .45 caliber pistol he surrendered to authorities.

Meanwhile, Major Franco Ver Lopez, head of civil military operations of Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) received P210,000 as reintegration assistance for the subsistence of the former rebels while they are under the protection of the 15th Infantry Battalion (IB).

The E-CLIP is one of the many programs under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflicts (NTF-ELCAC) dubbed as the “Peace Task Force”.

NTF-ELCAC was created by Executive Order No. 70 to ensure a sustainable and inclusive peace, and putting an end to the 50-year armed conflict that has hurt the progress of the country.

Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, director of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), said he supports the earlier statement of Brigadier General Eric Vinoya, commander of 3rd Infantry Division (ID) that the NPA and the allied organizations were badly hit as a result of the implementation of E.O. 70 which aims to address root causes of insurgency through the whole-of-nation approach.

“We are continuously calling for the peaceful surrender of the remnant force of the NPA. Return to the folds of the law,” he said.