Former Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) rebels and decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will now be able to access vital health services in public hospitals through the newly established partnership between the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and Department of Health (DOH).
Peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) recently to include former communist rebels and decommissioned Moro combatants as beneficiaries of the "Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP)" project by the DOH.
Under the MAIFIP, the beneficiaries will be able to avail of health services in public hospitals throughout the country with financial and medical assistance provided by the national government.
In his remarks during the signing ceremony, Galvez underscored that "health and peace must go together."
“There are more or less 40,000 former rebels and CPP-NPA [members] who returned to the folds of the law. There are also 727 former NPA rejectionist groups in the areas of Aklan, Regions 6 and 7, and Davao who will be beneficiaries of this project," he explained.
Galvez noted that the provision of medical assistance is aside from the annual budget allocation of P58.8 million that has been allotted under OPAPRU’s budget to fund the PhilHealth premiums of former rebels and decommissioned combatants.
The implementation of conflict-sensitive health programs, such as the one to be carried out by OPAPRU and DOH through the MOA, will "allow both agencies to work together to provide recipients with much-needed health services," the peace adviser added.
It is also seen to strengthen the government’s peace-building efforts as it "sends a clear and strong signal that it is determined to improve the lives of the beneficiaries and support their journey towards their complete and meaningful transformation."
The provision of socioeconomic assistance and services are among the key components of the Transformation and Normalization Programs of the national government that seek to sustain and build on the gains of the comprehensive Philippine peace process.
The Transformation Program is a community-driven intervention that is being implemented in parallel with the Local Peace Engagement (LPE) initiative which aims to uplift the socioeconomic conditions of former rebels, their families, and communities.
On the other hand, the Normalization Program, which is under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is designed to help decommissioned MILF combatants to return to mainstream society as peaceful and productive citizens.
"Through this MOA, we can provide the medical and financial needs of former rebels. Pilipino rin sila (They are also Filipinos) and they are entitled to the assistance of the government, especially of the Department of Health para maramdaman nila ang kalinga ng gobyerno (so they can feel that the government takes care of them)," Herbosa said.