More than 20 former rebels in Albay surrendered Tuesday (April 5) to the military. | Photos by Michael Jaucian, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LIGAO CITY––Twenty-one former New People’s Army (NPA) members operating in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces surrendered Tuesday to the Philippine Army in a ceremony in this city.
At the base camp of the Army’s 49th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Tastas in this city, soldiers welcomed the rebels and assured them of a peaceful and progressive life under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
“This is the result of continuous campaign effort of the government in convincing them to surrender to have a normal life and avail of the readied programs, particularly the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program and the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict,” Colonel Edmundo Peralta, commander of the 902nd Infantry Brigade.
With the surrender of nine rebels and 12 Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad members, along with their firearms, the membership and influence of the communist guerrilla group would further lessen, he said.
More than 20 former rebels in Albay surrendered Tuesday (April 5) to the military. | Photos by Michael Jaucian, Inquirer Southern Luzon
“Ka Darren,” a member of the NPA for 20 years, said he surrendered because he was tired of the system.
“The [rebel] commander [is the] only one benefitting from extortion activities,” Ka Darren said.
Meanwhile, soldiers from the military’s 9th Infantry Division, based in Pili town in Camarines Sur province and operating in Bicol, are on red alert status for the coming May polls. This means security and combat operations are more frequently done in the region to prevent the possible attack and harassment of the members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed group NPA.