Five rebels yield in CAR

From the Philippine Information Agency (Mar 17): Five rebels  yield  in CAR

Five members of the New People's Army (NPA) voluntarily surrendered to the members of the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR) and Philippine Army to rejoin mainstream society recently.

Chief Superintendent Isagani Nerez, Regional Director of the PRO-COR, said that the rebels have decided to “give-up arms due to the hardship that they have experienced inside the rebel movement.”

According to the rebel returnees, they were persuaded to join the underground movement because of the sugar-coated promises of the NPA leaders who recruited them but such promises of good life turned to be false and instead they experienced difficulties in hiding from the continuous and unrelenting operations of the government forces in the Cordillera.

The first to surrender was   22 year old  native of Asipulo, Ifugao, and  a member of the Squad Dos, Nona Del Rosario Command, Samahang Partidosa Platoon (SPP) Ifugao.He surrendered to the members of the Intelligence Operatives of the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) with the help of his family.

This was followed by the surrender of three members of the Leonardo Pacsi Command of the Kilusang Larangang Guerilla (KLG).  A 32 years old  man from  Aguinaldo, Ifugao, gave himself up to police personnel of the Ifugao Police Provincial Office (IPPO) while  a   father and daughter who were listed as No. 12 and No. 6 in the watchlist respectively surrendered to the joint personnel of the Regional Intelligence Division- Mt. Province Intelligence Branch (PIB), Natonin Municipal Police Station and members of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG), and 54th Infantry Battalion (IB) in coordination with the barangay chairman   and municipal social welfare and development office of Natonin, Mt. Province.

The last to surrender was  a 37 years old man Balbalan, Kalinga. He surrendered to the joint elements of the Regional Intelligence Unit  Kalinga provincial police office and members of the 503 Infantry Brigade at barangay Bantay, Tabuk City, Kalinga. He is also number 33 in the PSRTG Watchlist.

The rebel returnees are now undergoing debriefing for their inclusion in the Comprehensive Local Integration Program of the government while the concerned agencieshave begun facilitating the provision of livelihood and cash assistance for the NPA rebel returnees.

Nerez said teamwork and the close coordination between and among the local officials, the communities, and the Peace and Development Teams in the areas are important factors that led to the surrender of the rebels.

“I commend the rebel returnees for their decision to come back to the folds of the law and re-enter the mainstream of our society and its democratic way of life,” Nerez said.

“With the reintegration program that is being implemented by the government, we are looking to more NPA rebels returning to the mainstream of society and contributing to the nation’s march to peace and progress,” Nerez  added.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=91395020352