BACOLOD CITY – Eight former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental received a total of P80,000 cash assistance that would enable them to reintegrate to society.
Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson Jr., represented by his executive assistant, Emmanuel Castro III, turned over checks for P10,000 each to the rebel returnees, in the presence of Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of Army 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), and Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commander of 94th Infantry Battalion (IB) at the City Hall on Thursday, August 3.
These former NPA rebels surrendered to the 94th IB and the city police.
They also received food packs and personal kits from the city government and the City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Castro hopes that the cash assistance will benefit the rebel returnees and their families in living a new life.
“You all now serve as a living testament to the government’s sincerity to its mission,” he said.
Edralin also hopes that more active NPAs will avail of the many benefits programmed for them upon their surrender.