Fourteen former rebels (FRs) from Sagay and Escalante cities and Isabela town in Negros Occidental received livelihood settlement grants under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Monday, December 19.
The awarding of financial assistance was led by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte – 303rd Brigade commander, Provincial Social Welfare and Development head Merle Garcia, and E-CLIP Focal Person Narciso Abad lll.
Each former rebel received P20,000 and food packs from the provincial government.
Lt. Col. J-jay Javines, 79IB commander, thanked the DSWD for the assistance.
He also called on the remaining rebels to return to the folds of the law so they could also avail of the socio-economic and livelihood assistance being offered by the government.
“The FRs are now in a better position to generate a sustainable source of livelihood that would aid them to be integrated back into the society and be productive citizens and agents of peace in their respective communities,” he added.*