Bontoc, Mountain Province – Four former rebels in the province received the full package of financial assistance from the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) of the national government.

Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rosalinda Belagan said that each recipient received a total amount of 65,000.00. This comprises the livelihood assistance of 50,000.00 and the immediate assistance of 15,000.00 upon their absorption in the program.

As of this writing, Belagan said that eight former rebels in Mountain Province are benefitting from the program. Each has already received the immediate assistance while the rest who did not yet receive the livelihood assistance are undergoing the required processes. “After undergoing the required process they will soon be receiving the complete assistance,” Belagan said.

CLIP is a program of the national government for rebels who want to surrender, including those who gave up their arms since 2011. The funding of the program came from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPPAP) and was downloaded to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its local implementation.

In Mountain Province, the provincial government through its Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office will implement the localized program in partnership with the DILG, Philippine National Police, and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). // By Erwin S. Batnag