Undersecretary Angelito M. De Leon, Chairperson of the Task Force Balik-Loob (TFBL), outlined future opportunities for former rebels (FRs) and former violent extremists (FVEs) during the roadmapping Workshop of the E-CLIP and Amnesty Program (EAP) Cluster held on April 12, 2024, at Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
As concurrent Undersecretary for Capability Assessment and Development (USCAD) of the Department of National Defense, De Leon highlighted the pivotal shift in the government’s reintegration strategy that veers away from a military-centric method toward a more comprehensive approach to ending the local communist armed conflict in the Philippines.
Citing the gains of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) which began in 2018, De Leon congratulated the lead and partner agencies on the sixth anniversary of the Task Force for their dedicated efforts in helping address the underlying socioeconomic, political, and psychological roots of local armed conflicts.
“The TFBL, on its sixth anniversary, will be more active and we will look for opportunities for us to have convergence mechanisms and how we can help our brothers who will return home,” de Leon said.
He also congratulated the Armed Forces of the Philippines for a job well done in successfully dismantling communist-terrorist guerrilla fronts across the country.
“Imagine when we were still in the active service, we were addressing 89 guerrilla fronts. Especially, they were saying that the last fight would be in Compostela Valley or Samar. But now, I’m happy to note that these are thriving communities already. And we can see that peace will be restored. So once again, to TFBL, happy 6th anniversary,” de Leon added.
The roadmapping workshop was conducted to assess and address the gaps in the implementation of the E-CLIP, and craft a new implementation plan (IMPLAN) that will set the direction of both government programs for 2024-2028 under the umbrella of the National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). It also aims to sustain the coordination and collaboration of all agencies and stakeholders to ensure the effectiveness of efforts towards sustainable peace development.
Among the agencies that participated in the workshop were the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Department of Justice, Public Attorney’s Office, Office of the Solicitor General, Presidential Communications Office, Office of the President, Presidential Management Staff, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Labor and Employment, Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget Management and the NTF- ELCAC Secretariat.
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