NPA SURRENDERERS. Sultan Kudarat Governor Pax Mangudadatu (left) hands over cash assistance to one of the 19 New People's Army (NPA) surrenderers in Sultan Kudarat on Friday (March 29, 2019). The rebels belonged to different NPA fronts operating in the provinces of North Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato. (Photo courtesy of 33rd IB)
ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat -- A total of 19 members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) here returned to the fold of the law just as the rebel organization marked its 50th founding day on Friday.
On the same day, the NPA surrenderers were presented by military authorities to Sultan Kudarat Governor Pax Mangudadatu, who vowed to assist them in returning to their normal lives.
“This surrender indicates their desire to live normal and productive lives,” Lt. Col. Elmer Boongaling, the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion commander, said of the rebels who surrendered to them in Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat earlier in the day.
Mangudadatu said the surrenderers would receive ample livelihood assistance, payment for the surrendered firearms, as well as housing through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of Sultan Kudarat, pending proper validation.
Boongaling added that the rebels yielded to the combined efforts of the local government of Sultan Kudarat, the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Police Office, and the Philippine Army’s 33rd Infantry (Makabayan) Battalion, 6th Infantry (Kampilan) Division (6ID), and 39th Infantry Battalion of the 10th Infantry (Aguila) Division.
Boongaling said the surrendering NPA batch, who belonged to different fronts operating in the provinces of North Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato, also yielded 13 high-powered firearms, explosives, and ammunition.
“Their surrender on the very day of the NPA’s supposed founding anniversary is a very clear indication that its ranks continue to decline due to the relentless efforts of the troops on the ground to hunt them down while providing space for them to peacefully surrender,” Col. Efren Baluyot, commander of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, said.
Major Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the Army’s 6ID commander, whose unit has jurisdiction over Central Mindanao, including Sultan Kudarat province, has lauded the accomplishments of the military troops on the ground for the surrender of the rebels.
“The submission of these former militants shows that the localized peace negotiation, led by the provincial government of Sultan Kudarat, is very effective,” Sobejana said.
He added that the latest NPA batch surrender is a clear manifestation that those tricked by the NPA into joining their ranks have realized that the government cares for them.
Speaking to the former rebels, Mangudadatu said they made the right decision in life, that is, to surrender and live normal lives.
“You cannot win a battle against a mighty government,” he told the former rebels in Filipino.
“Instead, it is better if you join us and become productive citizens,” he added.
The United States and European Union governments have labeled the NPA, and its political body, the Communist Party of the Philippines, as an international terror organization.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066047
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