Northern Samar: A total of 55 former rebels in Northern Samar have completed the six-month reintegration program in preparation for their return to their families.
According to Philippines News Agency, the 55 completers consist of the recent batches of former combatants of the New People's Army, referred to by local authorities as "peacebuilders," enrolled at the Darangpan Center, a halfway house for those who chose to return to the fold of law, the Northern Samar provincial government reported on Thursday.
"The reintegration program allows peacebuilders to obtain basic literacy training, livelihood skills development training, psychosocial sessions, and capacity building, all aimed to help them rebuild their lives and smoothly adopt as they return back to their respective communities," Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan said in a statement. The reintegration program is being carried out by the provincial government through the Task Force Balik Loob and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO).
Since its opening in 2019, the Darangpan Center has been helping more than 200 former rebels in Northern Samar rebuild their lives shattered by years of armed rebellion. The center is inside the PSWDO compound in Catarman, the capital town of Northern Samar. "The completion ceremony marks a new beginning for the peacebuilders as they are prepared to go back to their respective communities to peacefully start afresh with their families and loved ones," Ongchuan added.
Before admission at the center, the surrenderers attended an orientation on the center's rules and regulations and were introduced to the peace-related policies and programs of the provincial government and its partner agencies under the Provincial Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict and Provincial Task Force Balik Loob, which adopts the whole-of-nation approach to peace and development. Northern Samar is the most insurgency-affected province in Eastern Visayas, where remnants of two NPA guerilla fronts operate.
