ROXAS City – Lieutenant Colonel Sisenando Magbalot Jr., commander of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (IB), stressed that the individuals who surrendered to them were real members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Magbalot fielded this statement to belie Karapatan secretary-general Reyland Vergara’s claims that the individuals who turned themselves in to the Army in the previous months were fake NPA members.
Vergara said this on Thursday, adding that members of the 61st IB were benefitting from the livelihood assistance and other aid that the rebel surrenderees get under the government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
Magbalot denied these, challenging Vergara to prove his claims.
He added that the surrenderees were rebels, citing the high-caliber firearms they turned over to the Army.
The rebels were sincere in returning to the folds of the government to reunite with their families, Magbalot stressed./PN
