CPP-NPA in Northern, Central Luzon on brink of collapse: Nolcom

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 2, 2021): CPP-NPA in Northern, Central Luzon on brink of collapse: Nolcom (By Zorayda Tecson)

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac – A total of 87 former Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) rebels from Northern and Central Luzon returned to the fold of the law and yielded some 16 assorted firearms in the first month of this year.

Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo B. Burgos, chief of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), said on Monday the surrenders were "manifestations that the terrorist group is nearing its end".

“The communist terrorists in Northern and Central Luzon are now on the brink of irreversible collapse. We have achieved decisive advantage against them, as manifested by the increasing number of surrenders from their ranks and the increasing number of their key personalities neutralized,” Burgos said in a statement.

The new surrenderers are in addition to the 396 former rebels who returned to mainstream society last year and yielded a total of 96 firearms.

The 87 former rebels who surrendered in January this year are currently processing their enrollment requirements to the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP), Burgos said.

Out of the 396 former rebels who surrendered last year and enrolled in ECLIP, he said that 222 already received livelihood aid amounting to a total of PHP15.9 million while the remaining 174 former rebels are now awaiting the release of their grants.

“We are right on schedule in our timeline to decimate the communist terrorists in northern and central Luzon. We will continue to perform our mandated tasks in order to ensure the safety and security of our people and sustain the democratic way of life in this part of the country,” Burgos said.

He attributed these accomplishments to the military's active partnership with the community and the different government line agencies.

“Our active partnership and concerted actions in addressing issues in the community have proven to be too much against the false promises and deception of the communist terrorists,” Burgos said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129282