8 halfway houses for former NPA rebels open

MANILA, Philippines — Eight halfway houses for former communist rebels have been opened in northern Luzon to facilitate the returnees’ reintegration into mainstream society.

Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., northern Luzon military chief, said on Tuesday that the halfway houses were completed in time for the expected influx of New People’s Army (NPA) rebel surrenderers in Northern Luzon.

Burgos said the eight halfway houses were located in Bantay, Ilocos Sur; Laoag City; Burgos, Pangasinan; Lallo, Cagayan; Cabaruguis, Quirino; Lagangilang, Abra; Bontoc, Mountain Province; and Tabuk City. The houses, which can accommodate 271 persons, are fully furnished but have no electricity and water as of now.

—JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE