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Tagum City, Davao del Norte
July 16, 2019

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte awarded housing units to 34 former rebels in a ceremony held at the Freedom Residences in Barangay Cuambogan, Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

The Freedom Residences was an abandoned project of the previous administration for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel. But due to the need to allocate housing units for the former rebels, National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Marcelino Escalada, Jr. recommended for the reallocation of the units under Administrative Order Number 10.

Under the current administration, housing units were improved through the allocation of additional funding in the amount of PhP 160,000 per unit.

Former rebels with existing housing units may also avail of the assistance in the form of repairs, rehabilitation or improvement worth PhP 100,000.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, and NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada, Jr. assisted President Duterte in the awarding of entitlement to the four (4) representatives of the former rebels from Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, and Davao del Norte.

President Duterte also witnessed the demilitarization of surrendered firearms under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integrated Program (E-CLIP) led by the DND’s Task Force Balik-Loob.

In his message, the Chief Executive assured the Filipino people that the government had taken concrete measures in addressing the needs of the former Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) rebels and Militia ng Bayan members by providing financial assistance, firearms remuneration, and housing units.

“We are also ensuring that they will live in decent and comfortable houses through a resettlement program under the National Housing Authority… I hope that today’s event will continue to encourage the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, the Task Force Balik-Loob, and their local counterparts to work doubly hard in addressing the problems of insurgency so that our people can enjoy safer and more secure communities,” President Duterte said.

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