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BY RUBY BP. SILUBRICO
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017
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ILOILO City – Members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Panay Island are getting fewer, this is why it is continuously recruiting young people to replenish its ranks, according to the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) based in Jamindan, Capiz.
Weary rebels are surrendering to the government, said Captain Eduardo Precioso, 3ID spokesperson.
“The rebels’ recruitment strategy is simple. They fabricate issues against the government to stir anger among people, then convince them to join the underground movement,” revealed Precioso.
The NPA would them make promises of better lives in the future to their recruits, he added.
“Sasabihin nila, bakit kayo naghihirap? Dahil sa gobyerno,” said Precioso.
The 3ID appealed for public help in the campaign to quell the insurgency.
“The Army alone can’t do it. The community must take part in the effort here in Panay, said Preciosa.
The Philippines’ insurgency problem, nearly five decades old, is deemed to be the longest-running in Asia.
“The active participation of civilians is really a big help to us,” said Precioso.
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 in March this year.
The recruitment is very public, with wall graffiti and streamers urging the youth to join the revolutionary movement displayed in mostly the hinterlands of Iloilo and Capiz.
One recruitment poster read, “Magpatapu sa New People’s Army.”
While the Army painted the NPA in Panay Island as a waning force, the CPP Panay regional committee statement projected an underground movement getting stronger.
“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,” read part of the committee’s anniversary statement
It also claimed a surge in the number of youths joining the revolutionary movement as full-time NPA fighters./PN
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