Davao Oriental’s successful implementation of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and operation of its Happy Home, a halfway house for former rebels, have yet again been benchmarked as model strategies in the complete reintegration of former insurgents to mainstream society.
Last week, delegates from the Province of South Cotabato visited the Province of Davao Oriental in a benchmarking activity. The team from the visiting province learned about Happy Home management, the operation, and areas of convergence between various agencies that provide services to the former rebels.
The Happy Home, which Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon initiated in 2013, has been serving former Communist-Terrorist New People’s Army members. In the last ten years since its operation, the facility has assisted more than 500 former rebels who have returned to the fold of the law and are now active partners in the country’s peace-building.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Provincial Director Orle Cabaobao provided insights into the flow of operations at the facility.
Deputy Brigade Commander Col. Edgar R. Delos Reyes, who represented 701st Brigade Commander Brig. General Oliver Maquiling, shared the deradicalization program as one of the highlight programs of the facility, which is geared toward peacefully moving the former NPA members away from violent extremism.
Police Lt. Col. Neil Richard Regalado, who represented the Provincial Director of the Davao Oriental Police Provincial Office, Police Colonel Francis Donald Brillante, explained the police-related concerns.
Retired Brig. Gen. Leopoldo Imbang, Jr., the Action Officer of the Provincial Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), explained how the facility has been helping former rebels start over with their new lives filled with new hope.
This was proven through a testimony made by a former rebel who is now the Chairman of the Davao Oriental Former Rebels’ Association.
The delegates from South Cotabato expressed their gratitude to the provincial government of Davao Oriental for giving them an idea about operating this kind of facility. South Cotabato began its facility’s operation only a year ago.
They said the visit widened their view of the impact and possibilities a Happy Home can give to its community and its beneficiaries, noting that the Happy Home is indeed a project worthy of praise. ᴘɪᴏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʀᴇᴘᴏʀᴛꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ᴄᴇɴᴛᴇʀ| ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏꜱ ʙʏ ʀᴇᴍᴇʟ ᴘᴇʀᴇᴢ
