DOLE, OPAPP to provide Moro rebel with P100-M in assistance

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Monday signed an agreement that will create a P100 million emergency employment fund for former Moro rebels.

The assistance for around 7,000 former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants will be channeled through the DOLE’s “Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program” (TUPAD).

TUPAD is an assistance package that provides emergency employment for 10-30 days.

The Labor Department will also provide employment facilitation programs and services to the former rebels through the Government Internship Program and Special Program for Employment of Students.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and OPAPP chief Carlito Galvez were present during the signing of the memorandum of agreement.

“We hope that through this collaboration, DOLE will continue to provide support during the succeeding stages of the normalization program and bring us closer to our vision of achieving ensuring peace and sustainable development in Bangsamoro,” Galvez said.

Also on Monday, 152 MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces fighters arrived in Maguindanao for an internal retooling activity with the Armed Forces and Philippine National Police.

In September, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to help rebels who surrendered their firearms for a peace deal.— Julia Mari Ornedo/DVM/NB, GMA News