REBUILDING LIVES. Former rebels and government officials during the turnover of livelihood kits in Catarman, Northern Samar in this Feb. 8, 2022 photo. The Department of Labor and Employment is pouring more funds for livelihood assistance to former rebels in four towns in Northern Samar province.(Photo courtesy of DOLE) TACLOBAN CITY - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is pouring more funds for livelihood assistance to former rebels in four Northern Samar towns. Virgilio Doroja Jr., DOLE Northern Samar provincial head, in a phone interview on Thursday, said they have already distributed livelihood grants to 24 former members of the New People's Army (NPA) amounting to PHP900,000. "We have earmarked another PHP1 million livelihood funds for former rebels identified by the provincial task force on ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC)," Doroja said. The distribution of livelihood assistance to another batch of former rebels is on February 23. Recipients of livelihood kits are from the villages of Hitapian, Osang and Nagoocan in Catubig town; San Miguel in Las Navas; Quezon in Catarman; and Calantiao in Bobon. These communities are included in the Barangay Development Program (BDP), a hallmark program of the central government to bring progress to former conflict-prone communities. It is directed to the sustainable rehabilitation and development of 822 barangays to be given PHP20 million each for their respective projects. Former rebels have been in the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), which provides in-kind livelihood assistance up to PHP30,000 to qualified and deserving beneficiaries. "This initiative planned through consultative meetings between officials of DOLE Northern Samar field office and Governor Edwin Ongchuan intends to change the lives of former rebels and their families by providing them with sustainable sources of income and help them reintegrate into mainstream society," Doroja added. The 24 recipients are temporarily sheltered in the government-managed halfway house in Dalakit village dubbed Darangpan Center where former rebels have been receiving comprehensive assistance from various government agencies, including the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, the Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, among others. Livelihood grant is one of the interventions of the National Task Force-ELCAC, created under Executive Order 70 issued on Dec. 4, 2018 and is tasked to "provide an efficient mechanism and structure for the implementation of the whole-of-nation approach to aid in the realization of collective aspirations for inclusive and sustainable peace." (PNA) }