Army intensifies school visits in Bukidnon vs. NPA recruitment

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Army's 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) said it has intensified school visits in Bukidnon to counter the alleged recruitment activities of the New People's Army (NPA).

In a statement released by the 8IB Friday, the school visits aim to prevent the youth from being recruited by the communist insurgents and their left-leaning legal fronts.

Las week, 8IB said government troops interacted with Senior High School students of Bangcud National High School and Malaybalay City National High School.

The information drive includes discussions on government programs offered to NPA combatants who decided to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.

The military claims that schools have been used by the communist rebel movement as recruitment centers by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA, through its legal fronts.

“The Philippine Army is serious in our fight against the CPP-NPA terrorist group and its left-leaning organizations. We do not want our children to waste their lives being one of the victims of the terrorist group. We will do everything we can to prevent them from being deceived by the group," said Lt. Colonel Ronald Illana, 8IB commander.

"The Philippine Army will continue its efforts to aware the community of the deceptions of the CPP-NPA and its left-leaning organizations to force them join in their ill-willed intentions and destroy lives of the innocent," Illana added. (PNA)