GARCIA HERNANDEZ, Bohol, Nov. 2 (PIA) -- A former rebel urged members of the rebel movement not to allow themselves to be used as a machinery for the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army to hoard more money for their leaders’ benefits.
This sums up the message from former red fighter Bernardo Santos (not his real name), whose youthful idealism was stoked by the false promises of the communist insurgents, almost costing him his future.
Speaking during the Briefing and Orientation of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration program (E-CLIP) in the campaign to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), Santos said he has almost dedicated his life to the cause of the insurgents, until recent changes in the organization's direction pointed towards baseless killings, arson, illegal collection of taxes from the poor, and extortion.
Santos said he has asked his commanders to take care of his family’s needs while he was staking his life in the underground.
"They told me, 'usa ka dugo-ong sakripisyo ang rebolusyon.' I was appalled by their reply,” he said.
“And when we started losing ground, many of our leaders became paranoid. They accused everyone of being a spy,” he said after the government started anti-rebel campaigns.
Then followed the personal style of determining justice - ordering killings of innocent civilians to sow fear and put a stop to their sliding grip on the communities that feed them.
Santos has left the mountains along with his idealism on the revolution to change the economic conditions of the poor.
Santos, who now leads an anti-communist movement called Bohol Organized New Guardians Association - Grupong Bol-anon alang sa Kalambuan ug Kalinaw (BONGA-GBKK), has been going around Bohol's hinterland barangays to call on his former comrades and their families to lay down their arms and live in peace.
He, along with his former rebel companions, have been the government's living testimonies to the goodwill offer in the ELCAC program, according to Philippine Army 2nd Lieutenant Charmaine Sancho, civil military operations officer of the 47th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army based in Carmen.
Leading 18 clusters of rebel returnee groups, Santos said he never feared death, but rather could not stand his conscience seeing young children being misled into a false ideology that has yet to fulfill its promise after 53 years.
Santos and his group helps spread the word about how serious the government is in ELCAC, as well as the offer of a package of assistance for former rebels or a supporter and his family can avail of to start a new life in peace.
ECLIP is a government program that helps the CPP-NPA-NDF and Militia ng Bayan members restore their allegiance to the Philippine government and community and be reunited with their families, explained Sancho during the briefing at the Sinugbuan Hall.
Sancho said surrenderees can avail of financial aid, remuneration for surrenders firearms, amnesty, safety and security guarantees, housing, skills and education, health services, social and community inclusion, legal services, livelihood and employment assistance, and strategic communication enhancements.
For those who decide to live in peace, all they need to do is go to their barangay chairmen, local chief executives, the police or the military authorities.
Under the ECLIP program, those who give up their arms can get reintegration cash assistance, firearms, explosives, and ammunitions remuneration, immediate assistance, livelihood assistance including livelihood materials and implements or employment assistance, and access to government services.
They can also avail of medical, legal, and housing assistance, modified conditional cash transfer, loans and market access, alternative learning system in education, psychosocial assistance, college tuition and stipend and conditional transitional grants, added Sancho. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)
