Fifty-four New People's Army (NPA) fighters formally surrendered Wednesday morning to the Bukidnon-based 403rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.
Major Christian Uy, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City, said the rebels were led by Emboy Casal, alias "Rixan" and known to operate in the Agusan, Bukidnon, and
The surrenderees also yielded one Thompson sub-machine gun, three M-1 carbine, one M-1 Garand rifle, one Springfield M-1, three caliber .22 rifle, 25 shotguns, two caliber .45 pistols and 16 revolvers of different calibers.
Uy said the returnees are temporarily housed in the 403rd Infantry Brigade in Malaybalay for the processing of their claims and reorientation seminar to prepare them to join the mainstream society before they will be formally accepted through a ceremony.
This is the fourth time that the 4th Infantry Division experienced huge influx of NPA surrenderees since it launched the government’s guns for peace program last year.
The first was on Oct. 31, 2013, wherein 35 former NPAs surrendered with 39 firearms. The second was on March 27 this year wherein 72 former NPAs surrendered with 69 weapons, and the most recent one was on May 21, when 97 former NPAs surrendered with 93 assorted guns.
“We encourage the remaining members of the NPA rebels to come down from the mountains, lay down their arms, reunite with their loved ones and return to mainstream of our society. Our government is working hard for their safety and well-being,” 4th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Ricardo Visaya said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=650667
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