Maguindanao military checkpoint. FILE PHOTO BY DANTE DIOSINA
The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has intensified its drive to get more members of the New People’s Army (NPA) to surrender amid reports of the influx of rebels in some vote-rich areas where local political candidates are preparing to campaign for the May 2016 polls.
Eastmincom chief Lieutenant General Rey Guerrero said he directed officers under his command to closely work with each other to facilitate the smooth and peaceful surrender of any rebel who expresses willingness and resolve to rejoin mainstream of society.
“Avoid employing the old ways of extracting information from rebel returnees. Debriefing will do and we should focus more on helping concerned government agencies facilitate these rebel returnees to have more space to start a new life, new beginning,” Guerrero said.
But while the government’s doors are open for NPA rebels to return to the mainstream, Guerrero also warned “communist die-hards” to not extort from political candidates in the guise of “permit-to-enter or permit-to-campaign” in so-called “red zones.”
Citing data from the Civil-Military Operations (CMO) Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division, Guerrero said they have already at least 26 rebel returnees in the first two months of the current year.
According to the report released to the media by CMO officer First Lieutenant Karl Jan Devaras, the rebel returnees were former members from different NPA Guerilla Fronts of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) operating in Surigao del Sur.
“The surrender was the result of the successful negotiations of the military and the resolution of local issues and concerns in the communities through the Bayanihan Team Activities (BTA) in partnership with the Local Government in conflict affected areas in Surigao del Sur,” Devaras said.
Devaras the rebel returnees surrendered their firearms.
He said the number of rebel returnees from January to February 2016 has almost doubled the total of 61 NPA rebels who surrendered in 2015 in Surigao del Sur.
The military command had been under fire for the massive evacuation of Lumad people from their homelands in the Caraga region because of clashes between the military and NPA. This armed conflict had resulted in killings of several Lumad leaders and members already who opposed military operations in their homelands and allegedly perpetrated by military-backed militias.
Aside from murdering suspected NPA supporters, schools and dormitories of Lumad students were not spared from the armed conflict between government troops and NPA rebels.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/124653/afp-intensifies-drive-to-get-npa-rebels-to-surrender
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