Albayalde says NPA rebels can surrender at the provincial level

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director Geneneral Oscar D. Albayalde on Friday called on communist rebels to surrender in their respective provinces amid the impasse in the peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Albayalde said if the members of the New People’s Army (NPA) cannot surrender at the national level, they can lay down their arms at the provincial level, where he claimed many have been surrendering.

“Pwede naman sila magsurrender sa iba’t ibang probinsya. Kung hindi sila makapagsurrender on a national level, pwede sila mag surrender sa kani-kanilang probinsya,” Albayalde said in a chance interview at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

(They can surrender in different provinces. If they cannot surrender on a national level, they can surrender in their respective provinces.)

“Ang daming nagsusurrender na mga kapatid nating mga rebelde sa mga ibat ibang probinsya. Hindi na nila hinihintay pa whether mag push through o hindi yung peace negotiations,” he added.

(Many of our rebel brothers have surrendered in different provinces. They no longer waited for the peace talks to push through or not.)

Albayalde said now is the “best time” to end the war on insurgency.

The negotiations between the Philippine government and the NDF is on the brink of collapse as President Rodrigo Duterte postponed the formal round of talks that was supposed to happen on June 28 in Oslo, Norway.

Duterte said public consultation should be held first if the peace talks should push through.

The NDF meanwhile slammed President Duterte for backing out of the negotiations.

“As I have repeatedly pointed out, Duterte is not interested in the peace negotiations but in scapegoating the [Communist Party of the Philippines] and NPA for the purpose of declaring martial law nationwide or a state of emergency in his mad drive to establish a fascist dictatorship under the guise of charter change to federalism,” NDF chief political consultant and CPP founder Jose Maria Sison said in a statement.  /muf