Twenty-six self confessed members of the New People's Army in Negros and Panay abandoned the armed struggle and surrendered to units of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in the first semester of 2015, military records show.
In the same period, 20 firearms were recovered, of which 13 came from Negros Island and seven from Panay, Maj. Rey Tiongson, 3ID spokesman, yesterday said.
Of the 26 former rebels, 10 are from Negros and 16 from Panay, while four others had been arrested, bringing to 30 the number of neutralized rebels in the past six months, Tiongson added.
Military records also showed that the 3ID units seized 13 rebel camps in Negros and six in Panay.
Negros Occidental was recently declared peaceful and ready for further development by its local officials, while the declaration of Negros Oriental was made May last year.
The Rachelle Mae Palang Command of the New People's Army Southeast Front, in a press statement, claimed it has inflicted a blow to the declaration of the AFP that Negros Oriental is now “conflict manageable and development ready” after it successfully warded off a raid on its temporary encampment positions in Brgy. Talalac, Sta. Catalina.
They further claimed to have inflicted two casualties on the 79th Infantry Battalion, who initiated the raid, on June 13 and 14.
Ka Estrella Banag-banag, spokesperson of the Rachelle Mae Palang Command, also accused the 79IB of harassing farmers, threatening civilians and committing other forms of human rights violations.
Banag-banag also reported that they had not incurred casualties during the armed skirmishes with 79IB troops, with all personal belongings, equipment, gadgets and weapons all accounted for.
Lt. Col. Harold Anthony Pascua, 79IB commander, however, debunked claims of the NPA remnants led by a certain Ka Jimlan in southern Negros, that they suffered casualties.
Pascua said that the NPA remnants are always on the run, after experiencing irreversible setback in the past several years.
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