TESDA training

COTABATO CITY (PNA) – At least 52 former members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on Friday began their skills training under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), as part of their reintegration to the mainstream society in Basilan province. The latest batch of TESDA trainees is among 272 rebel returnees from Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, who are being given livelihood skills training under the Program Against Violent Extremism (PAVE). John Louie Balagot, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Cabinet secretary, said the initiative forms part of the region’s intensified peace-building efforts to combat terrorism. PAVE is a reintegration program channeled through skills development training, which received a R20-million budget from ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman for its implementation.