AFP chief sees decreasing number of communist rebels in PH
MANILA, Philippines — The number of rebels in the country are decreasing with more rebel group members surrendering to authorities, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Gilbert Gapay said on Wednesday.
“All figures are on the decline and in fact, napakarami na nag-surrender (many rebels have surrendered). For this year alone, more than 1,000 nag surrender with almost 800 firearms from the CPP-NPA [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army] side,” Gapay said during the PNP-AFP joint briefing on curbing terrorism and insurgency held at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
When Gapay assumed his post as AFP chief, he said he will prioritize ending communist insurgency with the help of the Anti-Terrorism Act and President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70.
The executive order, signed by Duterte in December 2018, created a national task force to stop local communist armed conflict in the Philippines.
Latest figures from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) showed that almost 4,000 former rebels received P304 million cash aid from the government which is part of the agency’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
