Saturday, November 30, 2019

NPA rebels in Caraga, NorMin dwindling: Army official

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 30, 2019): NPA rebels in Caraga, NorMin dwindling: Army official



DECOMMISSIONED. Soldiers help government officials in the decommissioning of turned-in firearms during a ceremony held at the Phil. Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro, on Thursday afternoon. (PNA photo by Jigger J. Jerusalem)

The areas where communist rebels operate in the Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions are dwindling as thousands of New People’s Army (NPA) members have either surrendered or had been killed in government offensives in recent months, a military official said.

Maj. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said close to 5,000 NPA fighters and supporters returned to the fold of the law, while several of them were killed in armed encounters with state forces from January to November of this year.

“By that number, they (NPA) lost a huge area, as their territory is becoming smaller as the surrenderees have also increased,” Gacal said during the demilitarization of turned-in firearms and awarding of PHP2.8 million Enhanced Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) assistance to former rebels held at the 4ID headquarters on Thursday here.


Gacal said the rejection of NPA by tribal leaders has also contributed to the support for the insurgents in remote communities.

“It has a huge impact since many of the indigenous peoples (IP) are NPA members. So if our IP leaders are condemning them, it only goes to show that tribal communities are dissociating themselves from the NPA,” Gacal said during the decommissioning of the turned-in firearms, weapons of various sizes and types.

“We want to prevent the proliferation of loose firearms, so these won’t be recycled or won’t be going back to the hands of the NPA and other armed groups. We don’t want these firearms to be used for illegal means,” he said.

Among the 94 firearms that were destroyed were M-14 rifles, grenade launchers, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols, .38 caliber revolver pistols, and a handful of homemade handguns.

Gacal said the destruction of the firearms is part of the commitment of the former rebels that “starting today they will walk the path of peace.”

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1087557

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