217 ex-communist rebels to dine with Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo by KING RODRIGUEZ / Presidential Photographers Division)

Two-hundred seventeen former communist rebels who turned themselves to the government are set to have a dinner with President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday night.

The former rebels were sent off to Manila on Tuesday from Davao City. They were part of the 683 members of the New People’s Army who surrendered to the government in 2017, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson Maj. Ezra Balagtey said on Tuesday.

The former NPA members from the Davao-Compostela Valley area will also have an educational tour in Intramuros, Malacañang, and other historic places “to awaken their nationalism,” he added.

Part of the all-expense trip is a visit to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, to observe the mushroom production and other farms in Bulacan to get livelihood ideas.

Two more batches of former communist rebels are also set to dine with Duterte on a later date.

“This is to tell that there’s a better opportunity outside the revolutionary movement….and to encourage other rebels to surrender,” Balagtey said. /je