EXTRAORDINARY TIMES CALL FOR EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES. For Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Chairman, Undersecretary Joseph “Joy” B Encabo, the new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic led to radical solutions in the delivery of CDA’s programs to former rebels (FRs).

Representatives from the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) led by Assistant Vice President (AVP) Edgardo Luzano, Head of the Programs Management Department of the Landbank; together with Department Manager Virgilio Cabacang, Head of the Landbank Lending Center in Samar, and Ms. Jennielyn Zabala, Program Officer of Landbank Lending Center of Pampanga encouraged former rebels (FRs) and former violent extremists (FVEs) to avail of the Balik-Loob Lending Program to help them start a business or a livelihood project on Balik-Loob sa Pagbabago, the afternoon radio program of Task Force Balik-Loob, on July 13.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Ameenah Fajardo called on individuals, especially the former rebels (FRs) who are starting over, to register their businesses in order to formalize their livelihood identities and avail the wide range of benefits provided by the government.

Having spent many years areas in Mindanao infected by the communist terrorist group  (CTG), Brigadier General Manuel V. Sequitin, the new Commander of the Civil Relations  Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CRSAFP), revealed that most parts of the country are already peaceful because many former rebels have already decided to return to the fold of the law.

Task Force Balik-Loob welcomed the inauguration of the new halfway house for former rebels in Cogon, Juban, Sorsogon. Harong Paglaom, or Bahay Pag-asa, will serve as a temporary shelter for former rebels as they undergo the process of availing benefits under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

The inter-agency Task Force Balik-Loob (TFBL) released the second edition of the Former Rebel Reintegration Handbook, which serves as a guide for the implementation of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) designed to provide holistic and pro active assistance to former rebels (FRs) and former violent extremists (FVEs).

I strongly condemn the violent and senseless killing of Keith and Nolven Absalon in Masbate, caused by the anti-personnel mines of the CPP-NPA. This incident is not a mere “tactical error”, as these mines were planted there to inflict pain and damage. The CPP-NPA’s persistent use of landmines is a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law, undeniable proof of their utter disregard for the safety of innocent civilians.

The tragic deaths of Kieth and Nolven Absalon in an anti-personnel mine blast in Masbate are emblematic of the crimes against the Filipino people committed by the communist terrorist group (CTG).

The Department of National Defense strongly condemns the violence and senseless killing of Keith and Nolven Absalon in Masbate perpetrated through the use of anti-personnel mines by the CPP-NPA.

“The communist rebels, particularly the New People’s Army or NPA, cannot overthrow the government; not then, and especially not now,” Undersecretary Reynaldo Mapagu, Task Force Balik-Loob (TFBL) Chair, adamantly said during the turnover of financial assistance for housing to 16 former rebels (FRs) held at the headquarters of the 47th Infantry Battalion in Camp Rajah Sikatuna, Barangay Katipunan, Carmen, Bohol.

WHOLE-OF-NATION APPROACH. AFP Chief-of-Staff General Cirilito Sobejana Jr. emphasized the importance of the convergence of different sectors of the society in bringing members of the NPA back into mainstream society.