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[av_heading heading=’Army warns public vs extortionists’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, April 16, 2017
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d contractors of public works projects in Antique were warned about the extortion activities of lawless elements, including the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
The NPA has presence in the towns of Hamtic, Sibalom and San Remigio, according to Lieutenant Colonel Vener Morga, commander of the Philippine Army’s 82nd Infantry Battalion.
There were extortion activities in Guimaras and northeastern Iloilo, he said, so it was not far-fetched that the rebels would do the same in Antique.
Morga urged the public to help stop these extortion activities by reporting immediately to the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine National Police.
He issued the warning even as he played down the NPA’s recruitment activities in Panay Island.
“They need to recruit new members para ma-lift up ang ila depleting forces,” said Morga, whose 82nd Infantry Battalion is based in Miag-ao, Iloilo.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Panay regional committee confirmed the recruitment in a statement released to mark the recent 48th anniversary of the NPA, its armed wing.
Government troops were not worried, said Morga. They viewed the recruitment activities as reflective of NPA-Panay’s diminishing ranks.
“It has to recruit more because many members have left after realizing the futility of their cause. For 48 years they fooled the people with their false propaganda,” he said.
The recruitment was very public, with wall graffiti and streamers urging the youth to join the revolutionary movement displayed in mostly the hinterlands.
One recruitment poster read, “Magpatapu sa New People’s Army,”
According to the CPP Panay regional committee, “NPA-Panay units have widened their areas of operation and maintained their strongholds. They reached out to the wider mass base of farmers and peasants.”
It also claimed a surge in the number of youths joining the revolutionary movement as full-time NPA fighters. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
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