Gov't extends more funds to 4 Iloilo 'RPA brgys'
Four barangays dubbed as "peace areas" in Iloilo received yesterday a total of P1 million in additional government assistance.
A major part of the continued peace process pursued by the peace panel of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), people's organizations in these beneficiary-barangays will use the money as seed capital.
At the end of the government's peace talks is the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas – Revolutinary Proletariat Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB).
Assistant Secretary (Asec) Raul Banias, Presidential Assistant for Panay and Guimaras led the distribution of checks alongside Director Ma. Eileen Jose of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
"We are very optimistic on the rate things are going with the peace process here in our region," Asec Banias said in a The News Today (TNT) interview. "The very aim is to have them lay down their arms."
In a news release, the OPAPP General Secretariat disclosed that recipient people's organizations were the Bukluran ng Progresibong Magbubukid ng Pilipinas(BPMP) in Barangay Linayuan, Badiangan, Abangay Small Farmers Association (ABANTE) in Barangay Abangay, Januiay and the Bagacay-Cansilayan Small Farmers Association (BACAN) in Tigbauan.
"Iloilo is the first to receive the said release," the news release went. "Each recipient barangay has total allocated release of P251,458.70 intended for their respective specified project such as credit assistance, trading and rice milling."
Conduit foundation in behalf of the mentioned people's organizations is the RPMP Foundation represented yesterday by Aurora Cutanda.
Other beneficiaries in the region are five barangays in Aklan, three in Antique, five in Negros Occidental and eight in Negros Oriental.
"The implementation of these livelihood projects is under the KALAHI Para sa Kalayaan Barangays Program which has 72 target beneficiary barangays in Region 6," the OPAPP info continued. "it complements the school buildings constructed in 16 barangays and Level II water supply systems constructed in 13 barangays under the program earlier in the year. These infrastructure projects were built by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Engineering Brigade with funds coming from the Department of Education (DepEd) for the school buildings and the NAPC-DPWH for the water systems. Clearly this is convergence efforts in action which the ongoing workshop on ChaSe Peace aims to further strengthen."
Meantime internal conflict within the RPMP-RPA-ABB hierarchy continues with the OPAPP General Secretariat addressing the issue.
"Despite the challenges posed by the internal issues within the RPMP-RPA-ABB as a group (which came out in the open in the first quarter of the year), the Government and the RPMP-RPA-ABB remain committed to the implementation of the provisions of the Peace Agreement. This is also in keeping with the efforts of the Government to fast-track the process of achieving a just end to the peace process," the OPAPP statement went.
Director Jose for her part said challenges or not, the promised development and aid continues.