Viscom vows to push for more localized peace initiatives

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 20, 2022): Viscom vows to push for more localized peace initiatives (By John Rey Saavedra)

Visayas Command commander, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo. (PNA file photo)

CEBU CITY – The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Tuesday vowed to support localized peace initiatives to generate trust from the remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) and persuade them to go back to the fold of the law.

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Viscom commander, said engaging in localized talks on peace and development would entice more members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, NPA, to surrender.

“This incessant peace initiative hurts the terrorist group as much as our focused military operations, as it further demoralized their ranks and significantly contribute to degrading their manpower and armed capability,” Arevalo said in a statement.

He said that engaging directly in the grassroots level in providing development support programs along with the local and national government agencies, non-government organizations, and various stakeholders would build confidence from the remnants of the left-leaning organizations.

Arevalo reiterated his call to the remaining NPA fighters, especially those who are left without leaders, to lay down their arms and abandon their armed struggle, assuring them of the government support and assistance so that they can live a peaceful and progressive life with their family.

His statement came after a former rebel who is a political instructor of the NPA’s Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda under Front 3, Sub-Regional Committee Arctic of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee yielded to the 52nd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Dao, Oras, Eastern Samar on Sunday, surrendering a .45 caliber pistol, following a successful localized peace engagement in the area.

The Army soldiers also seized five firearms along with four anti-personnel mines and several other war materiel.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203926