Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: Kalinaw News: 29 enlightened NPA supporters surrender to the military and police in Mindoro

Monday, May 20, 2019

Kalinaw News: 29 enlightened NPA supporters surrender to the military and police in Mindoro

Posted to Kalinaw News (May 20, 2019): 29 enlightened NPA supporters surrender to the military and police in Mindoro

CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay Rizal – A total of 29 New People’s Army (NPA) supporters and sympathizers voluntarily surrendered to the members of the 4 th Infantry Battalion, 203 rd Brigade and the local Police in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro this month.

Colonel Marceliano V Teofilo, Commander of the 203 rd Infantry Brigade which has operational jurisdiction over Mindoro island said, “The surrenderees were members of the Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad (SPL) and Milisyang Bayan (MB) which are components of the CPP-NPAs underground organization tasked as spies, foodstuff and tax collector, and even recruiters”.

“These rebels decided to return to the fold of the law due to our relentless combat operations and Community Support Programs (CSP) in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantage Areas (GIDAs). Our troop deployment in Mindoro is continuous and we will not stop until the CPP-NPA’s only option left is to surrender”, Col Teofilo added.

During the interview, the former rebels revealed their horrible experiences in the revolutionary movement. “Mapanlinlang at mapagsamantala ang mga NPA. Ginamit kami nila bilang mga utusan at taga-dala ng kanilang mga kagamitan. Sinamantala nila ang aming kahirapan at kamangmangan sa buhay para magalit kami at mag-aklas laban sa gobyerno. Ngunit ngayon, dahil sa tulong ng mga sundalo at pulis, nalaman namin ang tunay na hangarin ng gobyerno sa amin, taliwas sa mga sinasabi ng mga NPA”, the rebels said in unison.

The former rebels also disclosed that they had undergone several CPP-NPA courses or lectures such as Batayang Kursong Partido (BKP), Espesyal na Kursong Masa (ESKUM) and Araling Aktibista (ARAK). Public Affairs Office, 2ID, PA Camp General Mateo Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal Cp Number: 0977- 277- 1986 Email Add:dpao2id@gmail.com, pjretumban07@gmail.com Like us on our Facebook page: 2 nd infantry Jungle Fighter DivisionLieutenant Colonel Alexander Arbolado, Battalion Commander of 4IB said, “The successive surrender of the NPA members and supporters is a clear manifestation that Communist Terrorists Group (CTG) is no longer effective. Even Indigenous People (IP) are well aware of their deception and recruitment tactics”.

“Patuloy akong nananawagan sa mga kamag-anak, kaibigan o kakilala ng mga aktibo pang NPA, mga SPL o MB na maipaabot sa kanila ang impormasyon na may pag-asa pa silang mag bagong buhay at tuluyan ng talikuran ang masalimoot at marahas na gawain ng mga teroristang NPA”, LtCol Arbolado added. On the other hand, Police Brigadier General Thomas Apolinario Jr, MIMAROPA Regional Director, commended the effectiveness of the joint Army and Police operations against the NPAs in Mindoro Island.

“I encourage all of the Local Government Units (LGUs), stakeholders and peace- loving Mindoreños to continually cooperate and support our government. Let us join our hands to protect our Mangyan IPs against these terrorist NPAs. Be with your Army and Police in achieving stable and genuine peace in our Island”, PBGEN Apolinario added.

Meanwhile, BGen Elias H Escarcha, Acting Commander of 2 nd Infantry Division also lauded the troops’ success against the enemies of the state. He said that the 2ID localized peace talks with the NPAs and the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the government are gaining more surrenderers in regions 4A & B. “We are winning the campaign and the NPA are quickly losing people’s support. We will sustain our gains until they are defeated the soonest possible time. Rest assured that NPAs who desires to surrender will be processed to avail the E-CLIP.

The 29 NPA surrenderees, of which 18 belongs to the Mangyan Buhid Tribe, are now undergoing debriefing, documentation and psycho-social intervention prior their enrollment in the ECLIP. Under the E-CLIP, a former rebel can receive 15,000 pesos immediate cash assistance, 50,000 livelihood assistance, firearms remuneration, have access to housing, loans, medical and legal assistance, among others. It also includes educational benefits which can be extended to the rebel’s immediate family members.