49 rebel returnees get P2.45-M livelihood assistance
Some 49 rebels from Western Visayas and Negros Oriental who have returned to the fold of the law have already availed of the livelihood assistance totaling to P2,450,000 under the Social Integration Program (SIP) of the government.
Through SIP, which is being implemented by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP, each of the rebel returnees received P50,000 worth of capital goods.
Hope Herrera, SIP Administrative Assistant in Region VI said former rebels can only receive the assistance once they have completed the training required by the program in relation to the livelihood project that they will undertake to cope with life as they rejoin the mainstream society.
The amount is on top of the P20,000 cash assistance the former rebels and their families received upon their surrender to be used for their immediate needs.
Herrera said most of the rebel returnees have picked carabaos as their choice of benefit. Others opted for motorcycle, sarisari store, hand tractor, trisikad and “bigasan”.
The 49 are part of the 69 former rebels in Western Visayas and Negros Oriental who are already enrolled in the SIP that intends to provide former rebels the set of interventions to facilitate their integration into mainstream society.
“The rest are still in the process of identifying their livelihood needs,” said Herrera. (PIA)