The former rebels turned-over 25 firearms to military and police commanders andare undergoing a process to determine if they are qualified to receive governmentgrants under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
Brigadier General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr, Commander of the 202nd Infantry(UNIFIER) Brigade whose unit was one of those involved in the negotiations, saidthat the former rebels belong to the NPA’s Guerilla Front Cesar which operates inQuezon, Rizal and Laguna.
He added that the mass surrender “validated our assessment that communistideology in this part of the country is now losing traction and mass base support dueto our massive intelligence-driven combat operations complemented by ourunrelenting push for localized peace talks through E-CLIP thereby putting them onthe verge of collapse.”
The military considers this as “a decisive blow to the underground movement due tothe inclusion of a notorious NPA bomb-maker whose surrender meant lesserlandmines and bombings which inflicted harm even to innocent civilians in the past”,said BGen Burgos. Since the 202nd Brigade’s maiden implementation of E-CLIP in Luzon and Visayaslast August 14, 2018 wherein 13 former NPAs were formally welcomed tomainstream society by Sec Eduardo Año and Sec Delfin Lorenzana during aceremony in Tanauan City, Batangas, a total of 100 surrenders with 59 firearmswere already recorded by the military, 50 of whom have been enrolled in E-CLIP.Major Israel Galorio, the brigade’s E-CLIP focal person, said that “we are helpingthese victims of NPA deception to satisfy the documentary requirements which areArmy Core Purpose: Serving the people.
Army Vision: By 2028, a world-class Army that is a source of national pridepart of the mechanism to ensure that this government program will not be abusedand will continue to flourish for the benefit of former NPA terrorists and their familieswho realized that they are better off contributing to national development instead ofwaging a war that is impossible to win.”Per the unit’s record, those enrolled have already received Php65,000.00representing Php15,000.00 immediate cash assistance and Php50,000.00 livelihoodassistance while some were either given employment in their areas or have beenregistered as beneficiaries of 4Ps.These are on top of the more than Php670,000.00 worth of housing, education, andhealth care benefits, among others, which the government is offering in its effort tounify the country and attain genuine, lasting peace.
Major General Rhoderick M Parayno, commander of the Philippine Army’s 2ndInfantry Division, lauded the former rebels’ “gesture of commitment to peace” andcongratulated them “for choosing their families over their comrades, for choosingpeace over conflict and for choosing to be productive members of the society overbeing extortionists who terrorize their fellow Filipinos.”
He added that the mass surrender was a result of the government’s “whole of nationapproach in attaining just and lasting peace after CALABARZON became the firstregion in the country to activate and operationalize the Regional Task Force to EndLocal Communist Armed Conflict or RTF-ELCAC 4A”.RTF-ELCAC 4A was activated on Feb 26, 2019 during a joint RDC and RPOCmeeting at Calamba City, Laguna.
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