DILG gives P7.6 million in assistance to 118 rebel surrenderees

Some of the surrenderees. Photo from DILG

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has granted P7.6 million worth of financial assistance to a total of 118 rebels who have surrendered in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, South Cotabato.

DILG Undersecretary for Peace and Order Bernardo Florece Jr. said the rebel returnees were awarded the financial grants through the department’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

According to Florece, the returnees were given immediate assistance worth P15,000 and a livelihood assistance of P50,000, which were given in two separate awarding ceremonies in South Cotabato region.

“It is very important to provide the rebel returnees with the necessary assistance to give them a kick-start in reintegrating to the mainstream society where they belong,” Florece said in a statement.

Aside from the financial assistance, beneficiaries will be sheltered in halfway houses or receiving facilities for security measures during the facilitation of their surrender, Florece added.

Of the 118 rebel returnees, the undersecretary said 106 are from Sultan Kudarat, while 12 are from Sarangani Province.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Army unit that received the former rebels was also given P7,000 reintegration assistance through E-CLIP.

E-CLIP is the government’s program that responds to the circumstances, needs, and concerns of former rebels through provision of assistance and seeks to consider their basic rights and situations as men and women. /muf

Photo by DILG