P5Mfor rebel ‘halfway house’

The Department of the Interior and Local Government is offering up to P5 million in grant to every province, city or village willing and qualified to build a “halfway house” or “processing center” for former or surrendered rebels.

In a press statement on Tuesday, DILG officer in charge Eduardo Año said under his recently issued Memorandum Circular No. 2018-105, the financial assistance would be for the construction and operation of facili- ties to “serve as a venue in rehabilitation and healing sessions and education and skills training activities” of former rebels.

The P5-million grant, however, can only be delivered after the local government unit complied with strict requirements listed by Memorandum Circular No. 2018-105.

Local talks

Nine provinces had already been granted P5 million each to construct the processing centers—Kalinga, Mountain Province, Masbate, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and North Cotabato, the DILG said.

Año said the construction of the processing centers was partly in preparation for the national government-proposed localized peace talks between local government units and local units of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

“We are hopeful for the success of the localized peace talks in light of the announcement of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that they would rather oust the Presi- dent than talk peace,” Ano said.

“We will never give up on peace, so we are preparing for the return of communist rebels in any way we can,” he added.

Communist leaders had rejected the government plan to hold talks with local rebel units instead of negotiating with National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of underground leftist groups that included CPP and NPA.

Leftist groups said the proposal was just a “money-making scheme.”