CNTs SURRENDER. Eight Communist Party of the Philippines New Peoples Army Terrorists (CNTs) surrenderers receive financial assistance from Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao with the assistance of Philippine Army 61st IB Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara at the Binirayan Gymnasium on Friday (Aug. 7, 2020). They decided to give up their struggle after being convinced by the End Local Communist Armed Conflict program of the government. (Photo courtesy of Antique PIO)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Eight members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) New People’s Army (NPA) Terrorists or CNTs, who had been hiding in the mountains of the province, have surrendered to government forces.
A CNT, alias "Joy", the only woman in the group of surrenderers presented to Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao on Friday, said she lived a life of a rebel for 19 years.
“I was then convinced to join the CNT thinking that its idealism could be a way for me to help address the problem of poverty,” she said in an interview.
However, through years of being a rebel, she experienced more difficulties hiding in the mountains.
“I finally decided to surrender because I realized that there was no development in our arm struggle and now I want to take care of my family,” she added.
San Jose de Buenavista chief of police Maj. Benjo Clarite said the eight CNTs were convinced to surrender because of the campaign to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) program of the government.
“Through the ELCAC, there is a convergence of the different local and national government agencies services being brought to the communities which they would like to avail,” he said.
He said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are willing to help them acquire new skills and livelihood.
Clarite said the provincial government also gave financial aid to the former rebels but did not specify the amount.
During the presentation, the surrenderers turned over two short firearms, two homemade shotguns, and an M203 grenade launcher.
The Police Regional Intelligence Unit and the Philippine Army 61st Infantry Battalion under the 3rd Infantry Division were also credited for the peaceful surrender of the CNTs.
Clarite said this batch of surrenderers came after 11 CNTs yielded last June 23.
“We hope that more CNTs would be convinced to give up their arms after the surrender of their comrades,” he said.
He said CNTs’ voluntary surrender could contribute a lot to the maintenance of peace and order in the province.
The CPP-NPA 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/1111561
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