Residents of far-flung areas in the province of Antique have availed of convergent government programs and services courtesy of the National/Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (N/RTF-ELCAC).
Ma. Dominga Zaragosa, a social worker at the Sibalom Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, said in an interview Wednesday she opposes the call for the abolition of the NTF- ELCAC as residents of Barangay Cabladan were able to avail livelihood skills training and medical mission of concerned government agencies.
“There were livelihood skills training such as those conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Antique Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO),” she said.
Last year, TESDA conducted house wiring installation training among 50 male residents of Cabladan, which is about 10 kilometers away from the town proper, so they could rewire their own houses.
They were also given a certificate of training by TESDA as proof they had undergone the house wiring installation when they apply for work.
Those recipients also underwent Empower and Reaffirmation of Paternal Abilities (ERPAT) modular sessions aimed to orient them about their parental responsibilities.
“The male residents have now formed their ERPAT association through the encouragement of Sibalom Mayor Gian Carlo Occeña,” Zaragosa, said.
Forty-five women, meanwhile, were trained on dressmaking by the PSWDO that they are now able to sew their own dresses.
They also had their sessions on Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (Kalipi) to raise women’s awareness on their parenting role and on how to improve their communication with their husbands.
Zaragosa brushed aside the belief that the NTF-ELCAC will be used to launch a campaign similar to that of Oplan Tokhang or the government’s anti-drug campaign.
“ELCAC is different from Oplan Tokhang,” she said, adding the database of the former rebels will not be used to harass them and that there will always be due process.
Barangay Cabladan is one of the two municipalities in Antique province identified by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sites for the convergence programs of the national government agencies upon the endorsement of the Antique Provincial Peace and Order Council due to the previous infiltration of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.
Source: Philippines News Agency