IMPASUGONG, Bukidnon (PIA) —In pursuit of attaining the government’s goal to end the communist insurgency in the country, Provincial Director Carmelo Enrique Libot of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Bukidnon said the halfway house, once working, would transform many lives and reunite families.
In an interview during the CORDS X Podcast of Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, DILG provincial director Enrique Labor said the facility would house former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) from around the province who surrendered and heeded the government’s call to avail of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) benefits.
He clarified that the halfway house will provide services such as psychological and psychosocial counseling, livelihood training, and capacity building activities to help the former rebels (FRs) cope with their confidence and freedom as they returned to the folds of the law.
“This is a genuine proof that the government is very serious in helping out our former rebels. This is not just an effort of DILG, this is not just an effort of the municipality, the province, the Army, and the police. It is the effort of all of us. This is our way of supporting the government’s ‘whole-of-nation approach’ to finally end insurgency,” Libot said.
Located in Magbuliga Development Complex, Poblacion, Impasugong, Bukidnon, the halfway house is nestled within the one-hectare scenic countryside in a peaceful conservation area donated by the local government of Impasugong.
Libot also said that the facility for FRs in the province is 20 percent accomplished and is targeted for completion before the year ends.
To date, reports showed that 524 former rebels in Bukidnon—both regular and Milisyang Bayan—returned to the folds of the law since the E-CLIP implementation and some of their benefits are now being processed by the Bukidnon E-CLIP committee.
Libot also shared during the CORDS X Podcast that the army’s 403rd Brigade and the Department of Agriculture would establish a farming site within the area for self-sufficiency while the ex-rebels make their transition back into community life. (RLRB/PIA Bukidnon)