LUCENA CITY – The military in Southern Tagalog claimed that at least 40 communist insurgents surrendered on Sunday as the New People’s Army (NPA) celebrates its 51st founding anniversary.
“The mass surrender came a day before the communist terrorist group’s 51st founding anniversary,” said Captain Jayrald Ternio, head of the public affairs office of Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division.
The surrender ceremony took place at the Calabarzon police headquarters in Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna Sunday morning, coinciding with NPA’s 51st founding anniversary.
Colonel Alex Rillera, commander of the Army’s 202nd Infantry Brigade which operates in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, and Quezon) region said the former rebels turned-over 14 assorted firearms to the government.
He said that the former rebels belonging to the NPA’s Guerilla Front Cesar which operates in the boundaries of Quezon, Rizal, and Laguna provinces
“They will undergo debriefing and profiling as part of the enrollment process to the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-CLIP,” Rillera said.
E-Clip offers free medical assistance, education, housing, and legal aid to rebels who surrender.
Last week, President Duterte declared a ceasefire and ordered all government forces to suspend operations against communist rebels from March 19 to April 15 as Luzon was placed under “enhanced community quarantine” to contain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) followed suit and also announced a ceasefire from March 26 to April 15.
But on Saturday, soldiers and NPA rebels clashed in Rodriguez, Rizal.
The encounter left dead a soldier and an NPA rebel. Two soldiers were also wounded.