22 ex-rebels in E. Samar tapped to persuade remaining NPAs to yield

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 10, 2024): 22 ex-rebels in E. Samar tapped to persuade remaining NPAs to yield (By Sarwell Meniano)

PERSUASION. Military, local government officials and some of the former rebels in Eastern Samar who recently surrendered to the Philippine Army released doves and balloons on Monday (June 10, 2024). These former rebels will be tapped to encourage the remaining 16 New People's Army operating in Eastern Samar to also give up the armed struggle. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar – The Philippine Army is counting on 22 former rebels who recently surrendered to the government to persuade the remaining New People's Army (NPA) fighters operating in the boundaries of Samar and Eastern Samar provinces.

During a meeting on Monday in Locso-on village here, Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir said the former members of NPA's sub-regional committee Apoy Platoon will be instrumental in persuading the remaining 16 members. Apoy is the Filipino term for fire.

"Basically, the former platoon members will be our partners to help families of their former comrades to surrender. The former Apoy Platoon members will pour cold water to extinguish the burning hatred and anger in the hearts of former comrades so that they will completely abandon the armed struggle," Vestuir said.

The former rebels are expected to send encouragement letters and video messages to their 16 former comrades, who are still actively fighting the government.

They surrendered between September 2023 to May 2024.

Fatigue, hunger, difficulty of hiding in the mountains, and regular dialogue with families initiated by the military and local government prompted them to surrender.

Alias Brando, 22, a former leader of Squad 1, has called on the remaining NPA members to return to their families and live a peaceful life.

"We are grateful for how the government treated us even if we are former enemies. My message to our former comrades is not to believe what the NPA told them that they would be jailed and tortured if they surrender," Brando told the Philippine News Agency.

Brando, a native of Calbiga, Samar and his pregnant partner, alias Andy, 22, a native of Borongan City, formally surrendered to authorities in October last year.

Vestuir said the NPA platoon running in the mountains of Eastern Samar and Samar provinces has significantly weakened this year.

From 47 members with 43 firearms in the third quarter of 2023, Apoy Platoon's strength dropped to just 16 members with 25 members as of the second week of June 2024.

Most of them surrendered through the Friends Rescued Engagement through their Families (FReE Families) initiative.

The program optimizes the local government’s efforts to link and convince the remaining NPA members through the active participation of the rebels’ families to work for the peaceful surrender of their loved ones and take advantage of the benefits through the Enhanced Local Integration Program.

Aside from Apoy Platoon, the Philippine Army is also working on dismantling another NPA sub-regional committee unit in the province. Currently, the Bugsok Platoon has nine members and nine firearms.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1226564