While turning away from their former lives was not easy, three former rebels in Agusan del Norte took the risk so they could find more opportunities to improve their lives.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the lives of former rebels, Ernie, Jerry and Sheena (not their real names) have changed through the help of the government.

As the lead agency in social protection and as one of the members of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), DSWD continues to assist former rebels who have returned to the fold of the law.

Life-changing decisions

A former rebel who surrendered in 2019, DSWD said that Ernie was one of those who received the Livelihood Settlement Grant in September of the same year.

Ernie established a hog-raising project using the financial assistance that he received from the program. Since then, he has been earning around P18,000 from the fattened pigs that he raised regularly. He also nurtured sows and additional piglets to keep his income-generating project going.

Ernie is able to sustain his family’s needs even amidst the pandemic through his small business. DSWD said that he remains “determined to rebuild his life and provide a better future for his family by nurturing his livelihood venture.”

Jerry, who also surrendered in 2019, ventured into fruit and vegetable vending.

Aside from selling a variety of fruits and vegetables, he occasionally sells fresh fish in a roadside stall. His fruit and vegetable business has been helping him to support his family during these trying times brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Due to the assistance granted by DSWD, Jerry said that former rebels like him can start building their lives again. With the help of his family, he plans to expand their business and sell more varieties of fruits and to engage in other small businesses for additional incomes.

Sheena, on the other hand, has been cultivating a small vegetable garden. She has been earning at least P12,000 monthly from her harvests. Like Ernie, she also engaged in hog-raising.

For Sheena, surrendering was a “great decision” - not just for her but especially for her one-year-old child.

Continued efforts

Aside from Ernie, Jerry and Sheena, DSWD said it has been helping other former rebels to build their lives again.

DSWD said in 2020 alone, there were 204 former rebels who received Livelihood Settlement Grant (LSG). The agency vowed to continue monitoring and providing them with technical assistance.

Former rebels who are deemed as eligible and cleared by the Joint AFP-PNP Intelligence Committee (JAPIC) are qualified to receive the DSWD-Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) LSG under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). This is stipulated in Executive Order No. 70 or the “Whole-of-Nation Approach in Attaining Inclusive and Sustainable Peace.” DSWD said that E-CLIP seeks to contribute toward achieving the goal of permanent and peaceful closure of all armed conflicts with non-state armed groups.

“The program is designed to encourage those within these armed groups to return to their communities and normal lives by accessing them to government programs and services, so they can rebuild their lives,” DSWD said.

Through this special livelihood intervention, DSWD explained that former rebels and their respective families are granted an amount of P20,000 to be used as their “seed capital fund in starting a small business or income-generating project of their choice.”

As part of the RTF-ELCAC, DSWD noted that other national agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also continue to conduct skills training to “hone the potentials of the former rebels in managing their small businesses” funded through the LSG.