TWENTY-FIVE individuals, including six former New People's Army (NPA) rebels, completed Tuesday, November 17, four community-based skills training at the Army's 53rd Infantry Battalion (IB) headquarters in Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur.
The trainings were conducted by the Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment Cluster (PRLEC) of Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-Elcac) chaired by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
Tesda Regional Director Dan Navarro said Thursday, November 19, that the trainings included Defensive Driving, Preventive Maintenance, Pastry Making and Procedures, and Installation of Wooden Cabinet.
Aside from the six former NPA rebels, the other participants are soldiers and their dependents.
Navarro thanked Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera, 53IB commander, for their convergence efforts to better serve the communities especially the vulnerable sectors in far-flung villages.
"You have seen how much your government loves you and cares for you. Continue to be better members of the society and in due time, you will reap what you sow," Navarro told the training participants.
Herrera expressed his gratitude and recognized Tesda's efforts and contributions to ending local communist armed conflict.
"Tesda showed what real collaboration and convergence is. We are doing great because we have compassionate partners who are also doing great," Herrera added.
PRLEC is the Elcac cluster that establishes decisive and institutionalized measures to address poverty affectation among marginalized communities and basic sectors.
It empowers vulnerable sectors in the community and equip them with skills and knowledge to better themselves as effective members of our society.
It is also the lead cluster to develop stable conditions with specific emphasis on poverty alleviation and sustainable economic interventions for basic sectors, all aligned with the mandates of Executive Order 70, which institutionalizes the Whole-of-Nation approach to finally end the 52-year-old Communist-NPA terrorism in the country. (SunStar Zamboanga)