46 newly-surrendered UGMO members to receive aid from the government

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 9, 2020): 46 newly-surrendered UGMO members to receive aid from the government (By Freddie G. Lazaro) 

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, Nov. 9 (PIA) - - Forty-six newly-surrendered members of the Underground Mass Organizations (UGMO) in Ilocos provinces will receive livelihood assistance from the different government agencies.

According to the army’s 702nd Infantry Brigade spokesperson Major Rogelio Dumbrigue, all government agencies involved in the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) had readied the assistance for distribution to the surrendered UGMO members through a series of “serbisyo caravan.”

These benefits include cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), livelihood and skills training from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), packages of livelihood assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), farm equipment from the Department of Agriculture (DA), and many more.

The UGMO members are reportedly supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA) in a particular community all over the country.

Of the 46 surrendered UGMO members, 12 are residents of Burgos; 30 from Narvacan; two from Quirino; all from the provinces of Ilocos Sur and two from Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

The 12 surrendered UGMO in Burgos, Ilocos Sur have formally taken their oath of allegiance to the government on November 5, 2020, with the presence of the members of the Municipal Task Force-ELCAC of Burgos town headed by Mayor Nathaniel D. Escobar.

The 30 surrendered NPA supporters in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur have taken their allegiance to the government on November 6, 2020.

Meanwhile, the two NPA supporters in Quirino, Ilocos Sur have surrendered to the authorities on November 4, 2020. They were identified as Romeo Valdez Mangay-ayam aka “Bawang”, 62, and Benigno Ig-an Diyan Sr., 64, both residents of Barangay Patungcaleo, Quirino, Ilocos Sur. The two surrendered NPA supporters were recruiters/founders/officers of the Save Quirino Movement under the umbrella of Cordillera People’s Alliance.

Dumbrigue said these 44 UGMO members surrendered to the operatives of the army’s 81st Infantry Battalion with the assistance of the local task force of ELCAC.

Earlier, Alexander Pagdilao Sr, 60, and his wife, Flordeliza Pagdilao @ AKA Liza, 53, have surrendered to the joint operatives of the army’s 24th Infantry Battalion and the police in Ilocos Norte. Both were listed as supporters and members of the Komiteng Larangang Guerilya- Southern Ilocos Sur (KLG-SIS) of the NPA.

Dumbrigue said the couple is now under the custody of the army for inquiry. (JCR/FGL, PIA 1)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1058497