ILOILO City – The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) is escalating combat operations in Panay Island in what may be the final push to dismantle the remaining units of the New People’s Army (NPA).
But even amid the intensified offensives, Major General Michael Samson, 3ID commander, is extending an olive branch to NPA holdouts.
“Don’t waste your life on a non-sense belief. There is still a chance to change and live peacefully,” Samson appealed, urging the remaining insurgents to lay down their arms and embrace the government’s reintegration program.
The 3ID’s campaign aims to end the decades-long communist insurgency in Panay within the year, as military units close in on remaining rebel forces.
“Better to choose the path of peace while there is still a chance,” Samson stressed.
He emphasized that government troops are committed to making the lives of insurgents in the mountains “miserable,” in the hope that hardship and hopelessness will prompt them to reconsider their fight.
“We continuously make their lives in the mountains miserable, and this would eventually make them realize that the armed struggle is actually a useless cause as they would never win against our forces,” he said.
Despite the intensified military action, the 3ID remains open to surrenderers, encouraging rebels to avail of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), which offers benefits and support to former combatants who choose to return to civilian life.
“If they refuse and continue to fight the Armed Forces, they would suffer death,” Samson warned bluntly./PN
