Alias Freddie, a 72-year-old former rebel from a small town in Bohol province, spent more than 16 years believing and living the ideology taught by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
However, realizations took over Freddie that made him think deeply whether to remain in the group or leave and surrender to government authorities.
“As I age, my body can no longer take the physical and mental torture, so I decided to leave,” Freddie said, reflecting on the ordeal he had to experience in the rebel group, believing that it would provide him with the life he wanted.
In 2018, Freddie made a timely decision to leave the rebel group and surrender to the governent. In December of the same year, then President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 70. The EO aims to institutionalize the government’s “whole-of-nation” approach to tackle the local armed conflict situation and form the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Through EO 70, former rebels like Freddie are given the opportunity to reintegrate into their community and receive assistance from national government agencies under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
E-CLIP aims to help the members of local communist armed groups such as the CPP-NPA-NDF who want to return to the folds of the law, as well as to provide them with government interventions they can use to change their lives.
For its contribution to the whole-of-nation approach to ending local armed conflict, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provides social services through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
Freddie was among the former rebels who received livelihood support from the DSWD. He received a seed capital worth Php20,000 on November 13, 2020, and used it to start his Tilapia farming business – a long-time dream that has now turned into a reality.
“Thank you, SLP, for making my dream a reality,” said Freddie in a simple yet profound statement to SLP for helping him fulfill his dreams.
After a year of running his Tilapia farm, Freddie expanded his business by venturing into coconut wine or ‘bahalina’ production. Using his knowledge in wine making, he became the supplier of top-quality ‘bahalina’ in his community and in neighboring towns.
In 2023, blessings poured in Freddie’s life when he successfully negotiated an exchange deal with a prominent construction firm to help clear his parcel of land by gathering stones and other materials, free of charge. Freddie then cultivated and developed his land into an agro-tourism and planted it with fruit-bearing trees, not only benefitting him but also his fellow surrenderees who now serve as farm helpers.
Together with 65 former rebels, Freddie led the formation of an E-CLIP Association and was elected as its president.
With this livelihood, his family now has enough food on their table. Also, it has secured the bright future of his five children so that no one will take a ‘detour’ just like he did. From his story, Freddie has learned a lot that he will never forget.
His decision in 2018 paved the way for him to avail himself of many opportunities and transformed not only his mindset but also the lives of his loved ones. He will always cherish and be grateful to DSWD-SLP and other government agencies that have helped him.
Today, Freddie has become an advocate of government programs that promote peace. He, too, has been encouraging others to embrace the government and expressed his willingness to help them find the right path.
Freddie is among the SLP’s EO 70 beneficiaries in the Central Visayas region who have succeeded in their chosen livelihood projects.
In the Central Visayas region alone, the DSWD through its Field Office-7, has served a total of 1,086 individuals or 110 organized Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations (SLPA) in Conflict-Vulnerable Areas (CVA) disbursing more than Php12 million in seed capital fund from 2020 to 2023. #
