The national government has released P11.7 million in socio-economic assistance to former rebel-led people’s organizations in Region 12 as part of its continuing effort to strengthen peace and reintegration programs in Mindanao.
Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento said the assistance was provided under the government’s Transformation Program, which seeks to help former rebels, their families, and their communities rebuild their lives through livelihood support and localized peace interventions.
“The OPAPRU was able to deliver its socio-economic commitments under our Transformation Program framework in key provinces in Mindanao, specifically in Region 12, as several former rebel people’s organizations received seed capital as livelihood assistance,” Sarmiento said.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU), through its Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program, partnered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office XII and provincial governments in the region to distribute checks and certificates of accreditation to qualified PAMANA Livelihood Program Associations in the second week of May.
The OPAPRU’s Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) Peace Process Office endorsed the list of former rebel-led groups eligible for the assistance, while the Area Management Unit–South-Central Mindanao conducted validation and initial profiling to ensure that the interventions would reach intended beneficiaries.
The P11.7-million aid package was distributed to 37 former rebel-led organizations formed by former members of the CPP-NPA-NDF in South Cotabato, Sarangani, Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.
“This livelihood assistance presents a very good opportunity to strengthen and sustain peace gains in conflict-affected and vulnerable areas, and support the successful transformation of former rebels into their communities in Region 12,” Sarmiento said.
According to Sarmiento, the assistance was coursed through provincial governments as part of a local government-led peace framework designed to guide the reintegration of former rebels into civilian life.
In Cotabato, the livelihood projects include agricultural and agri-veterinary supply enterprises, rice retailing, mini-groceries, and livestock-related ventures such as frozen meat production.
Sarangani supported goat raising, general merchandise stores, mini-groceries with agricultural supply services, agri-vet businesses, and rice wholesale operations, while South Cotabato focused on rice retailing, mini-groceries, agri-vet supply, general merchandise, and swine fattening enterprises.
Sultan Kudarat recorded the highest number of beneficiary associations and livelihood projects, including agri-vet supply stores, grocery operations, general merchandise businesses, mixed agri-commercial enterprises, community-based coffee processing, and chair-and-table rental services.
Several groups in Kalamansig, Palimbang, Lebak, Esperanza, Columbio, and other municipalities received funding support for income-generating activities aimed at improving rural productivity, expanding local trade, and creating opportunities for conflict-affected and marginalized communities.
Sarmiento described the Transformation Program as a holistic and localized peace framework anchored on conflict-sensitive and peace-promoting approaches. In the absence of a formal peace agreement with the CPP-NPA-NDF, he said the program seeks to address the needs of former rebels through four components: security, confidence building, healing and reconciliation, and socio-economic intervention.
“This localized strategy ensures that the transition from conflict to civilian life is not merely a surrender, but a holistic evolution supported by the provincial government to address the root causes of insurgency at the grassroots level,” Sarmiento said.
He added that the Marcos administration’s goal is to pursue not only the end of armed conflict but also the building of lasting peace in communities affected by insurgency.
“Under the guidance of President Marcos, Jr., our goal is not merely putting an end to armed conflict but the cultivation of a lasting, positive peace. By bringing the government closer to the people through the Transformation Program, we are proving that good things happen to those who walk the path of peace,” Sarmiento said.
Sarmiento also said OPAPRU is shifting toward an outcomes-based approach, focusing not only on the amount of funding released or the number of projects launched, but also on the long-term impact of the initiatives on communities recovering from conflict.
“We must look beyond the initial inputs and focus on the lasting outcomes in communities that are recovering from conflict,” he said.
“By prioritizing the growth of human capital and the creation of equitable opportunities, the program ensures that development is not a top-down process but a localized success story. Our initiative seeks not only to improve household incomes but also to institutionalize long-term community resilience and self-sufficiency,” he added.
Atty. Elisa Evangelista-Lapina, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Executive Director for Local Conflict Transformation, said the Local Conflict Transformation-Field Implementation Support. Unit (LCT-FISU) Mindanao will work with DSWD 12 to monitor the socio-economic outcomes of former rebel-led associations that initially received ₱300,000 in livelihood assistance from the national government.
“By shifting from an ‘input-based’ model to one that measures the actual growth of human capital within these 39 FR-led associations, the government is building the resilience of communities against conflict and the recovery efforts of the communist group,” Evangelista said.
She said the program allows whole-of-government support to reach communities directly and turn the four pillars of the Transformation Program into concrete gains for beneficiaries in Cotabato and other parts of SOCCSKSARGEN.