MANILA – Five suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members surrendered to the authorities in Palawan province during the rebel group’s 49th founding anniversary on March 29, the Armed Forces said.
The surrenderers were taken into the custody of the Armed Forces’ Western Command (Wescom) for validation and documentation, said Wescom commander Lieutenant General Rozzano Briguez.
“The surrender of five NPA members is a serious blow to their ranks,” Briguez said on Friday.
“According to them (surrenderers), their rank is tainted with corruption of their leaders, fatigue and disappointment due to unfulfilled promises,” the Armed Forces official claimed.
“We continue to urge the remaining members of communist terrorist NPA to choose the path of peace,” he added. “We call on them to put their arms down, surrender and rejoin the society.”
The suspected rebels will receive financial assistance and livelihood opportunities as their applications for the Local Social Integration Program of the provincial government of Palawan and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Comprehensive Local Social Integration Program are being processed.
“We continue to urge the NPA rebels to avail [themselves] of the government’s integration program to start their lives anew with their families and loved ones,” Briguez said.
The Philippine government – via a proclamation that President Rodrigo Duterte signed in December last year – formally acknowledged the NPA as a terrorist organization.
Duterte also ordered the termination of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The NPA is the CPP’s armed wing./PN
