122 rebel returnees from Agusan del Norte receive ECLIP aid worth P12 M
BUTUAN CITY – One-hundred twenty-two former New People’s Army rebels from Agusan del Norte have received a total of P12 million in assistance under the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
AGUSAN del Norte Gov. Ma. Angelica Rosedell M. Amante (third from left) hands over livelihood packs during the awarding of assistance under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) to rebel returnees at the Provincial Capitol in Butuan City on Thursday, June 8. (Photo courtesy of PIA-13 via Mike U. Crismundo) The rebel returnees also received agricultural seeds, family food packs, and medicines. Of the 122 ECLIP beneficiaries, 72 were regular members of the NPA while 50 were Milisya ng Bayan fighters who surrendered from 2021 to 2022. The Agusan del Norte provincial government and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-13 (Caraga) facilitated the release of the assistance on Thursday, June 8. These former NPA rebels were also renumerated for the 39 high-powered firearms they turned over to authorities. Among the former NPA who received assistance was a certain “Ka Patrick,” former secretary of the dismantled Guerrilla Front 4-A under the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA North Central Mindanao Regional Committee. Agusan del Norte Gov. Maria Angelica Rosedell M. Amante, together with DILG-13 Assistant Director Donald Seronay and Director Elsa Evangelista-Lapiña of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, led the distribution of assistance at the Provincial Capitol here. “I am glad that you decided to abandon the communist movement and return to the fold of the law,” Amante told the rebel returnees, adding, “We are all Filipinos, and we do not need to fight.” She said that there is no reason to fight and offer one’s life for a useless cause such as that of communist rebels. The provincial chief executive is planning to sit down with provincial officials and concerned line agencies to construct housing units for the former rebels.
AGUSAN del Norte Gov. Ma. Angelica Rosedell M. Amante (third from left) hands over livelihood packs during the awarding of assistance under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) to rebel returnees at the Provincial Capitol in Butuan City on Thursday, June 8. (Photo courtesy of PIA-13 via Mike U. Crismundo) The rebel returnees also received agricultural seeds, family food packs, and medicines. Of the 122 ECLIP beneficiaries, 72 were regular members of the NPA while 50 were Milisya ng Bayan fighters who surrendered from 2021 to 2022. The Agusan del Norte provincial government and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-13 (Caraga) facilitated the release of the assistance on Thursday, June 8. These former NPA rebels were also renumerated for the 39 high-powered firearms they turned over to authorities. Among the former NPA who received assistance was a certain “Ka Patrick,” former secretary of the dismantled Guerrilla Front 4-A under the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA North Central Mindanao Regional Committee. Agusan del Norte Gov. Maria Angelica Rosedell M. Amante, together with DILG-13 Assistant Director Donald Seronay and Director Elsa Evangelista-Lapiña of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, led the distribution of assistance at the Provincial Capitol here. “I am glad that you decided to abandon the communist movement and return to the fold of the law,” Amante told the rebel returnees, adding, “We are all Filipinos, and we do not need to fight.” She said that there is no reason to fight and offer one’s life for a useless cause such as that of communist rebels. The provincial chief executive is planning to sit down with provincial officials and concerned line agencies to construct housing units for the former rebels.