SOUTH COTABATO — Former rebels returning to community life are being equipped with practical livelihood skills as the South Cotabato provincial government continues efforts to support their reintegration and help them build sustainable sources of income.
Through the Office of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer (OPSWDO), under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), a three-day casket-making training was conducted for members of the Bagong Buhay Bagong Pag-asa Rebel Returnees People’s Organization.
The training was carried out in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Provincial Training Center–Surallah and the 2nd South Cotabato Provincial Mobile Force Company (2nd SCPMFC).
The initiative focused on providing the participants with knowledge and hands-on skills in casket making that they could potentially use as an alternative livelihood for their families.
Rather than limiting reintegration assistance to immediate support, the program seeks to provide participants with skills that can help them become more economically productive and capable of pursuing livelihood opportunities on their own.
The training is part of broader efforts under E-CLIP to assist former rebels as they transition back into civilian and community life. Livelihood and skills development are among the interventions intended to strengthen their capacity to establish sustainable sources of income after their return.
Program implementers emphasized the importance of providing livelihood skills and opportunities to Friends Rescued (FRs) as a means of supporting their reintegration and encouraging self-reliance.
For the participants, learning how to produce caskets offers a potential avenue for developing a small-scale livelihood while putting newly acquired technical skills to practical use.
The partnership among the OPSWDO, TESDA and the 2nd SCPMFC also highlights the importance of coordinated government interventions in addressing the economic needs of former rebels and their families.
Beyond the technical aspect of casket making, the initiative is intended to contribute to rebuilding participants’ confidence, productivity and capacity to become self-sufficient members of their communities.
The program reflects the principle that successful reintegration requires more than the physical return of former combatants to their communities. It also requires opportunities that enable them to establish livelihoods, support their families and participate productively in community life.
Through skills training and livelihood assistance, South Cotabato’s E-CLIP interventions seek to provide returning individuals with practical pathways toward a more stable future—helping transform their return to civilian life into an opportunity to rebuild, become self-reliant and move forward with renewed hope.