The government is set to decommission former combatants of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB), a breakaway faction of the New People’s Army in Western Visayas, and their firearms, this week, an Army regional spokesman said.
Capt. Cenon Pancito III, spokesman of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, yesterday said that the return to the folds of the law of the RPA-ABB in Western Visayas is the product of a localized peace talks, that also indicates that, contrary to claims, it is working.
At least 200 RPA-ABB combatants, who surrendered more than 200 firearms as well as explosives, to the government, were consolidated yesterday at Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City, in preparation for a decommissioning ceremony, Pancito said.
The RPA-ABB and its political wing, Rebolusyonaryong Partidong Mangagawa-Pilipinas, founded by then CPP Visayas Commission secretary Arturo Tabara in 1996, entered into a peace agreement with the government in 2000.
Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Paduano, who used to be known as Carapali Lualhati, then commanded the more than 500-strong RPA-ABB combatants.
Pancito said the RPA-ABB, which is now known as Kapatiran sa Progresibong Lipunan, has denounced the leadership of CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, and they have returned to the folds of the law.
Following their break up with the mainstream CPP-NPA, several leaders of the RPA-ABB and its political wing, RPM-P, were gunned down, including Tabara, who was murdered by NPA assassins in Quezon City, in 1998.
On May 8, suspected NPA rebels attacked a re-settlement area of the RPA-ABB in Brgy. Locutan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, killed two breakaway rebel faction combatants, and took several high-powered firearms, including an M-60 machine gun.
Pancito confirmed yesterday that the Armed Forces of the Philippines will train the 200 RPA-ABB combatants as Special Civillian Active Auxilliary (SCAA) to defend themselves and their communities from NPA attacks.
While their surrendered firearms will be decommissioned, he also said that the RPA-ABB combatants, who will undergo basic military training for two to three months, will be issued government-owned firearms, when they are deployed to their communities, under the supervision of the Philippine Army.
The AFP is providing P4,800as monthly allowance to each CAFGU or SCAA members.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and partner national government agencies are now working together on the realization of a three-year plan for the development of RPM-P/RPA-ABB-communities and the transformation of their members into productive members of society, Secretary Carlito Galvez earlier said.
OPAPP reports, have profiled 727 former RPA-ABB combatants and their families, as well as the firearms and explosives in their possession.
Galvez previously reported that OPAPP has already allocated about P500 million for the transition plan, which includes social protection programs, capacity development, livelihood and employment assistance, housing assistance and financial assistance to 727 former combatants and their families.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2019/September/09/topstory1.htm
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