The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) mapped assistance gaps for former rebel communities in Bicol after Mayon Volcano released pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that triggered ashfall across parts of Albay.

Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento ordered the agency to assess the situation of former New People’s Army (NPA) members and their families, and ensure coordinated government support.

“My instruction to OPAPRU is to check on the situation of the former rebel communities we are assisting in Bicol in light of the eruption of Mayon Volcano, and to ensure that appropriate support is provided as needed,” Sarmiento said.

Mayon Volcano’s recent activity affected several communities that had been part of government reintegration efforts under the national peace process. These areas included groups of former combatants and civilian members of former rebel-linked organizations now undergoing livelihood and social support programs.

According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), more than 102,000 individuals were affected by Mayon’s unrest.

Sarmiento said the response should reflect sustained state presence in areas recovering from conflict and disaster.

“Our objective is clear: we must be seen and felt as an institution that truly empathizes and genuinely cares. Not only for former combatants, but for the communities that once stood behind them. We will not be distant, and we will not be indifferent,” he said.

“By actively reaching out and checking on them, we send a strong and unmistakable message: they are not forgotten, they matter, and they will continue to matter to us,” he added.

OPAPRU field teams were tasked to validate affected individuals on the ground and based on records, there were 42 former rebel combatants recognized under the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) Intelligence Committee (JAPIC) in Albay.

It also listed 15 former rebel people’s organizations with 403 non-combatant members in the province.

The agency said the validation work was aimed at identifying gaps in relief delivery and preventing duplication of assistance among government agencies.

“To avoid duplication, once our field office has identified those affected, it shall coordinate with the DSWD, in collaboration with the concerned local government unit, to conduct a rapid needs assessment. This will enable the necessary follow-through with the DSWD for the provision of appropriate assistance, consistent with our role in facilitating support for former rebels as part of the whole-of-government approach initiatives of the PBBM administration,” Sarmiento said.

He added that all assistance would be documented and coursed through official government channels.

“On our part, this will be properly recorded as assistance coursed through the DSWD and the LGU, consistent with our role in facilitating support for former rebels as part of the whole-of-government approach,” he said.