YIELD. Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 (Western Visayas) regional director, presents to the media the 11 former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), in Camp Delgado in Iloilo City on Tuesday (June 23, 2020). The 11 were leaders and members of the Panay Regional Committee operating in the area of Panay island. (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY -- Eleven rebel returnees from Antique Province have cited that their trust in government led them to turn their backs from the armed struggle of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“Almost everyone is giving the same reason – that they are going back because they trust the program of the government. They can get more help when they come back to the fold. And they also experienced hardship in the mountains,” said Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, Director of the Police Regional Office (PRO 6) in Western Visayas, on Tuesday during the presentation of the surrenderers in Camp Delgado here.
The 11 CPP-NPA were leaders and members of the Panay Regional Committee operating in the area of Panay Island that include the provinces of Antique, Aklan, Iloilo, and Capiz.
The highest-ranking surrenderers were “Ka Paner” and “Anton or Dario”, both squad leaders and had managed 12 armed rebels.
Other surrenderers were “Bobet”, “Dodoy”, “Tams”, “Boy”, “Nini”, “Boy”, “Junior”, “Jojo”, and “Jan-Jan.”
Col. Roy Parena, Antique Police Provincial Office (APPO) chief, in the same press conference, said a middleman facilitated the surrender of the 11 rebels.
Parena said the middleman is a “concerned citizen whom they (rebels) trusted”.
The 11 were the first to surrender to APPO for the year 2020. The rebel returnees also turned over two shotguns, one .45-caliber pistol with ammunition, three grenades, five rifle grenades, nine 12-gauge shotgun shells, one magazine for .45-caliber pistol, and several rounds ammunition.
Pamuspusan said they will be held at APPO for their security.
The PRO 6 is also anticipating for the CPP-NPA to deny that the returnees are their members. “That is the usual response of the CNT (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army Terrorists), that every time there are members who would surrender, they say that they are fake. But eventually, the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the Philippine Army prove that these are members (of the rebel group),” Pamuspusan said.
The security forces will validate first the participation of the individuals to CPP-NPA activities as a process of recording their surrender.
Parena said the surrenderers will receive assistance from the national government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP), including cash and livelihood assistance for them to start their new lives.
Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara, commander of the Philippine Army 61st Infantry Battalion under the 3rd Infantry Division, said the surrender of the NPAs is proof the APPO and the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), which is a convergence of the national government agencies, are indeed working to bring the needed basic services to the hinterlands.
Meanwhile, Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao said the provincial government as part of its support will give P10,000 to each surrenderer through the Aid on Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
They would also be provided with technical assistance and planting materials if they would like to engage in farming as their livelihood.
The NPA surrenderers were from Culasi and Sebaste towns in northern Antique.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
