SURRENDER. Lt. Col. Rommel Valencia (left), the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion commander, accepts the rifle of one of five surrendering members of the communist New People’s Army during simple rites held at the old capitol building in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat on Tuesday (July 14, 2020). The rebel returnees also yielded high-power firearms and ammunition. (Photo courtesy of 7IB)
Five communist rebels who are all members of the Manobo tribe yielded to military authorities in Sultan Kudarat province on Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Rommel Valencia, Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion commander, said Wednesday the surrenderers yielded various firearms during ceremonies held at the old provincial capitol building in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
The surrenderers were identified as Bobby, Billy, Untang, Ega, and Waning, all surnamed Tayan, who were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) Sub-Regional Committee- East Daguma Front operating in the province.
“We're tired of being enemies of the state,” Ka Billy, one of the surrenderers, said in vernacular.
The group turned over high-power firearms consisting of an M1 Garand rifle, a.30 caliber Carbine rifle, a Springfield sniper rifle, an M16 A1 rifle, a homemade M79 grenade launcher, and assorted ammunition.
Valencia said the surrender of former NPA combatants was "a step closer to their aspiration of achieving peace in the area, particularly in indigenous communities whose members are oftentimes duped by the NPAs into joining their futile cause."
“We might not achieve peace right away through their surrender, but it is an implication that there is a blossoming fruit from the initiative that the government is doing,” the Army official said.
Valencia said the military expects more NPA surrenderers because of the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program for rebel returnees.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108981
Lt. Col. Rommel Valencia, Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion commander, said Wednesday the surrenderers yielded various firearms during ceremonies held at the old provincial capitol building in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
The surrenderers were identified as Bobby, Billy, Untang, Ega, and Waning, all surnamed Tayan, who were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) Sub-Regional Committee- East Daguma Front operating in the province.
“We're tired of being enemies of the state,” Ka Billy, one of the surrenderers, said in vernacular.
The group turned over high-power firearms consisting of an M1 Garand rifle, a.30 caliber Carbine rifle, a Springfield sniper rifle, an M16 A1 rifle, a homemade M79 grenade launcher, and assorted ammunition.
Valencia said the surrender of former NPA combatants was "a step closer to their aspiration of achieving peace in the area, particularly in indigenous communities whose members are oftentimes duped by the NPAs into joining their futile cause."
“We might not achieve peace right away through their surrender, but it is an implication that there is a blossoming fruit from the initiative that the government is doing,” the Army official said.
Valencia said the military expects more NPA surrenderers because of the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program for rebel returnees.
The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108981
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