At least 667 regular members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have surrendered to authorities in eastern Mindanao in the first nine months of 2019, the military disclosed Saturday.
This was bared to General Noel Clement, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), by Lieutenant General Felimon Santos Jr., commander of the AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom), during the former’s visit in the island on Friday.
The figure was the latest update on the efforts of the military to end the local communist armed conflict in the region.
Aside from that, 56 fighters were killed while 82 other NPA personalities were arrested from January 1 to November 20, 2019.
Some 967 members of Militia ng Bayan (MB) also laid down their arms and submitted themselves to authority while 4,191 others have withdrawn their support to Underground Mass Organizations (UGMOs).
Santos also said 993 firearms and 232 International Humanitarian Law (IHL)-banned landmines were either recovered by or surrendered to authorities during the same period.
Santos said the figures translate to the destruction of at least six NPA formations and the clearing of 51 barangays from NPA affectation in Eastern Mindanao.
Clement encouraged the EastMinCom to “work closely with other government instrumentalities relative to the implementation of Executive Order 70.”
EO 70 was signed by President Duterte in 2018 to adopt a whole-of-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict across the country.
Meanwhile, Clement also advised the Command to document and develop into template its actions, efforts, initiatives, and innovation during calamities as part of its preparation for future scenarios.
Parts of eastern Mindanao were affected by a series of earthquakes last month that claimed the lives of dozens, destroyed houses and private properties, and affected the livelihood of thousands of Mindanaoans.
Santos bared the transition of the military’s efforts from relief operations to early recovery and rehabilitation phase.
He said engineering battalions were deployed in affected areas to configure the evacuation centers and the construction of temporary shelters in coordination and collaboration with the different Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (LDRRMCs).
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