‘Personalized’ gifts for communist rebels who give up

The Department of National Defense (DND) continued to dangle houses and funding for livelihood in a bid to entice communist rebels to surrender through a well-funded program that bore no mention of the root causes of the rebellion.

In a statement, Defense Undersecretary Reynaldo Mapagu said rebels should give up their guns and “come home and reunite with their families this Christmas.”

Mapagu heads the multi-agency Task Force Balik Loob, which was created to end the countryside rebellion rooted in agrarian unrest.

He said 125 former rebels from northern Luzon had already enrolled in the surrender campaign called Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

Offer

E-CLIP, Mapagu said, offered rebels housing, education, livelihood, health care and other benefits in exchange for their surrender.

Aid to rebels, he said, “is personalized.”

“This is not a one size fits all approach,” he said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines chimed in, saying “people’s revolution is already passe.”

In a separate statement, AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said rebels should see they’re being sent to battle by leaders who “luxuriate in money they extort from business persons.”