• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Another batch of former Negros rebels have availed of P1,054,000 cash assistance from the government, through its the Enhanced Local Integration Program (E CLIP).
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, assisted by Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, acting Region 6 police director Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, and DILG regional director Juan Jovian Ingeniero, led the distribution of financial aid to 13 of the 14 former rebels during the 2nd quarter Regional Peace and Order Council meeting held at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City.
Assistance granted to each former rebel included P15,000 immediate assistance, P50,000 livelihood aid, and P21,000 reintegration assistance.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental also provided them with three food packs, one sack of rice, and three boxes of canned goods.
The 14 former rebels, residents Isabela, Cauayan, Toboso, and Escalante City in Negros Occidental, as well as Ayungon in Negros Oriental, surrendered to the different infantry units of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in Negros Island.
The E CLIP, according to Provincial Planning and Development Office officer-in-charge Benja Lucasan, is among the strategies of the government to obtain just and lasting peace, social transformation and inclusive development.
Lacson reiterated his call for NPA remnants to surrender and live a peaceful life, as their 14 former comrades did, stressing “nobody wins in a war.”*
