In Daraga, Albay, New People’s Army rebels surrender and turn over their guns to military officials —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA
MANILA, Philippines – The Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) will be wiped out in the next two years, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año predicted on Monday.
“In two years’ time, tapos na itong CPP-NPA (the CPP-NPA will be wiped out) and Joma [Jose Maria Sison] is already out of touch. He’s very irrelevant. Better for him to come home,” Año told reporters.
The DILG chief said this in response to Sison’s threat last Saturday that the NPA will “deliver more lethal blows on weak points of the enemy (government) forces in the countryside and deliver head blows to the [Duterte] regime’s most brutal, corrupt, and drug-trading officials in urban areas.”
The CPP founder also claimed that the NPA has gained strength in Mindanao.
But Año said the claims of Sison, who has been in exile in the Netherlands since 1987, are not in touch with reality.
“Malayo sa katotohanan si Joma. Umuwi muna siya para malaman niya na this week lang, ilang high-ranking CPP-NPA ang nahuli ng Armed Forces [of the Philippines] pati ng PNP (Philippine National Police),” Año said.
(Joma is not in touch with reality. He should go home first and find out that only last week, some high-ranking officials of CPP-NPA were arrested by the police and military.)
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Aside from arrested officials of the communist movement, Año said around 1,600 rebels have also surrendered in 2018, with most of them benefitting from the government’s livelihood programs.
“I think everyone believes na dapat nang tapusin ‘yung CPP-NPA at pagod na ‘yung mga tao sa pagsusunog, pagpatay. Ito na ‘yung time na tapusin na natin, para sa susunod na administration hindi na nila pro-problemahin ang CPP-NPA. For the sake of our nation, let us work together,” he said.
(I think everyone believes that the CPP-NPA should be crushed once and for all and the people are tired of cases of arson and killings. This is the time that we should end this, so that the CPP-NPA will not be a problem to the next administration. For the sake of our nation, let us work together.)
The NPA has around 3,700 regular members in the country, according to Año.
On March 18, President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the appointment of peace negotiators from the government, after the collapse of the peace talks with the communist rebels by virtue of Proclamation No. 360 he signed on November 2017. /gsg
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