MANILA, Philippines – As a way to entice communist rebels to give up their fight against the government, President Rodrigo Duterte created a task force to harmonize and boost reintegration programs for rebels who surrender.

Duterte, on Tuesday, April 3, signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 10 creating Task Force Balik-Loob, in charge of strategizing “reintegration efforts” and coordinating with local governments and other agencies.

The task force will be comprised of officials with the rank of at least undersecretary from the following agencies:

• Department of National Defense
• Department of the Interior and Local Government
• Office of the President
• Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
• National Housing Authority

Who is covered?

The same administrative order “enhances” the existing Comprehensive Local Integration Program or CLIP, renaming it E-CLIP.

E-CLIP is supposed to provide “a complete package of assistance to former rebels who were members of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army, and National Democratic Front as well as their immediate family members.”

Those who may receive such assistance are those who surrendered starting on the date of the effectivity of the order and “expressed their desire to abandon armed struggle and become productive members of society.”

But former rebels who surfaced starting July 1, 2016 – or at the start of the Duterte presidency – can still receive E-CLIP benefits aside from benefits they received from the original CLIP.

Duterte signed the AO the day he announced in a speech that he is once again open to talking peace with communists. He had terminated peace talks back in November 2017, angered by an NPA attack that led to the death of a baby.

In the weeks before signing the AO, Duterte had hosted dinners for supposed former NPA rebels in Malacañang. (READ: Lorenzana sets conditions for joint ceasefire with communist rebels) – Rappler.com