1.9K Reds surrender in H1 2024 thru localized peace talks

From the Philippine News Agency Jul 12, 2024): 1.9K Reds surrender in H1 2024 thru localized peace talks (By Priam Nepomuceno)

MANILA – The government's Local Peace Engagement (LPE) initiative has led to the surrender of 1,904 communist insurgents in the first half of the year, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Friday.

In a statement, the anti-insurgency body said these surrendered former New People's Army (NPA) members came from 299 cleared barangays across the country.

The figure comprises 1,266 full-fledged NPA fighters and 638 Militia ng Bayan members.

"This period marks a remarkable achievement. This accomplishment will serve as the foundation for us to accelerate and advance," Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Undersecretary for the Local Conflict Transformation Cluster Wilben Mayor said during the NTF-ELCAC's first semestral conference at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday.

He was referring to Tracks 1 and 2 of the LPE and Transformation program, which include community consultation, and problem-solving sessions and local peace dialogue, respectively.

Meanwhile, Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Angelito De Leon, head of the NTF-ELCAC's Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support Cluster, reported that the NPA's strength has decreased to only 1,251 from 24,000 in the 1980s.

"Significantly, during this period, 37 key leaders of the NPA have been neutralized," De Leon said, noting that these rebel leaders played crucial roles in the terror strategies of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

He said the NTF-ELCAC is on the right path to finally ending local communist armed conflict.

To further strengthen the collective spirit of the former rebels, De Leon commended security partners for establishing Peace and Development Centers (PDCs), which serve as a convergence point between the government's whole-of-nation approach and the former rebels.

Meanwhile, NTF-ELCAC executive director, Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., cited the need to innovate mechanisms that can effectively and efficiently serve the government's ultimate goal of resolving the root causes of insurgency that would result in ending the communist movement.

He made the statement after reporting that 89 active NPA guerilla fronts had been dismantled since 2018.

"Now, we are only dealing with seven weakened fronts. We must innovate our tactics and mechanisms," Torres added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1228827