Five members of the communist New Peoples Army (NPA)
operating in North Cotabato have returned to
the folds of the law to live normal lives, an Army official on Saturday said.
Through the efforts of the 57th Infantry Battalion, the five
NPA guerillas decided to surrender due to difficulty living in the mountains
and running away from law enforcers, according to Capt. Jay Cabatic, 57th IB
spokesperson.
Cabatic said the surrenderees belonged to Pulang Bagani
Command 2 under the Sub-Regional Command of the NPA operating in the villages
of Manobisa, Imamaling, Don Panaca and Manobo sa Magpet, North
Cotabato .
First to show up at the 57th IB base in Makilala, North Cotabato were two NPAs then the other day three
other NPAs surrendered.
One of the NPAs admitted the fighters in the hinterlands of
Magpet have been going hungry with support from the masses going down.
"That prompted them to return to the folds of the
law," Cabatic said. "But basically, they wanted to live normal lives
with their families and children."
While they surrendered without firearms, Cabatic said the
57th IB have documents to prove they were really communist guerillas.
A livelihood assistance package assistance is being readied
for the five former guerillas.
Cabatic said vital information about the NPA movement have
been provided by the surrenderees.
"They said the NPA is losing mass support and is
getting weak," he said.
Communist guerillas' activities in the province have waned
the past six months after ranking leaders and members were neutralized in
massive Army offensive last year.
The community outreach peace and development program of the
military in communities influenced by the NPAs helped reduce mass base support
to the rebel movement.
Cabatic said the Army will continue its peace keeping
mission even several of its members have died due to NPA ambuscades and road
side bombings.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=754093
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.