Prov’l gov’t provides P3-M fund to train more ex-rebels into entrepreneurs

The Negros Occidental provincial government has extended PHP3 million in financial assistance to the Association of Negros Producers Inc. (ANP) for the continued implementation of the Balik Salig Program, an initiative which aims to train farmers and former rebels to become entrepreneurs.

“Balig Salig” means bringing back the trust of former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and supporters to the lawful authority.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson turned over the check to the ANP led by its chairperson Christina Marie Gaston, president Arlene Infante, and external affairs manager Sybel Nobleza during their meeting at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City on Tuesday.

In an interview on Wednesday, Anna Marie Lucasan, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Planning and Development Office, said the program is funded through the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) in collaboration with the Provincial Administrator’s Office.

“Peace and order and public safety remain as the priority component of the Abanse Negrense Provincial Development Agenda. The governor, who chairs the PPOC, and provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz II, who is in the co-secretariat with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, have been pushing for peace initiatives,” Lucasan said.

The Balik Salig Program, launched by the province and the ANP in 2022, is a sustained skills and entrepreneurial intervention seeking to foster economic growth and empowerment in conflict-affected areas.

The ANP, which sits as one of the three civil society organizations in the PPOC, with the support of the Philippine Army, conducts product development and basic marketing workshops in remote communities to help former rebels and other residents create handmade products.

“The products of the former rebels are being displayed in the ANP Showroom and also brought to the annual Negros Trade Fair in Metro Manila,” Lucasan said.

In May last year, the province and the ANP launched the first Balik Salig Awards, which featured weavers and woodworkers from five assisted associations, using locally available and sustainable materials.

Participants were the Camingawan Diversified Workers Association from Barangay Camingawan, Kabankalan City and Madaha Hand Weavers Association from Sitio Madaha, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, both assisted by the 94th Infantry Battalion; Sitio Maatop Community from Barangay Sangke, Hinobaan town assisted by the 15th Infantry Battalion; Barangay Riverside Upland Famers Association from Barangay Riverside, Isabela town, assisted by the 62nd Infantry Battalion; and Kapatiran Community from Barangay Pinowayan, Don Salvador Benedicto town, assisted by the 79th Infantry Battalion.* (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)